Of Light and Dark
by cheeky doggie
Summary: [DN AngelxCCS] Looks like there are some new people in town...Sakura and the gang have some new meetings ahead of them with some very, VERY strange people! Please R&R!
1. New Arrivals!

**Of Light and Dark**

…I know I'm going to be called crazy for doing a crossover between CCS and DN Angel, but I love them both (especially DN Angel) so blame my obsessed mind. I'll like your opinions on this so please R&R! And there won't be any yaoi, I'm sorry but I am not a romance writer! Although there might be a bit of SxS…

**Note:** This is based on the manga, and since I haven't read all the series where she captures the cards, I might be a little wrong on some things.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own CCS, which belongs to CLAMP. I'll count all the stars in the universe before I ever do.

**Chapter 1: New Arrivals!**

_There is something going on…_

_Another force making itself known,_

_We can only hope for the best,_

_Our mistress…hasn't seen the worst yet._

----

_A black figure slashed across the sky, facing another white one. She stood, below them, watching them with her wand in hand._

Huh? Who…are these people?

_They were flying…but she couldn't see their faces._

Flying…with wings…just like Yue and Kero-chan…

_Magic was gathering in their hands, and she knew what they were going to do. Calling her cards, she darted between them._

STOP!

----

"AH!" A young girl bolted up suddenly, her auburn hair flying around her as she did so. She blinked drearily for a minute, trying to regain her bearings.

"Huh…"

"Sakura! Yo, you up yet?" A small yellow arm waved in front of her face as a little plushie came into view. "What's up? You look tired."

"Oh…good morning Kero-chan…" Sakura yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "I had a weird dream…"

"Really?" Kero asked as he fluttered by holding her bag. "What was it about?"

"I don't know what it meant…but there were two people flying. One was completely black, and the other one was white but I couldn't see their faces."

Kero regarded her carefully, an eyebrow raised, but he shook his head and held up her bag. "Well I don't know, but if you don't hurry up you're going to be late with your meeting with Tomoyo!"

Emerald green eyes widened suddenly, and darted to the clock by her bed. "I'M GOING TO BE LATE!" she shrieked, jumping out of bed.

Kero chuckled as she grabbed her bag and ran downstairs, fully clothed. She hadn't changed much in the last few years. He floated over to the table where the Sakura cards lay in the book, undisturbed.

It had been 4 years since the whole Master of the Clow incident, and there was nothing going on to disturb the young master as of yet. She was currently attending Seijou High with Tomoyo, and they had both grown into beautiful young women. Of course, Yukito and Touya were now in college, but they studied in a university in Tomoeda so Yukito still visited often.

He hadn't seen Yue for a bit now, but Yukito had assured Sakura that he was fine.

Kero frowned as the book opened itself, almost as if it was inviting him.

"I sense something is going to happen soon--do you know what it is?" he asked, seriousness etched in his face.

The book glowed, and slowly, 3 cards floated out. They lay face down on the table, and Kero turned them over, one by one.

"Light."

"Dark."

"…Mirror?" Kero groaned in frustration as he tried to figure out what the cards were saying. "Something related to these cards is going to happen? I don't get it!"

A quiet voice spoke up, drawing Kero's attention.

"_We do not know what will happen, but our mistress will be alright." _The Light card said.

"_But…a powerful force is growing, and we are drawn to them." _The Dark card shimmered and Kero's uncustomary frown grew bigger.

"All of you, or just you two?"

There was a pause, before the two answered together. "_We are. A powerful gathering of light and dark in this city is the cause."_

Kero nodded, and the three cards stacked themselves back into the book. "_She may have to take protective measures again--we will protect our mistress."_

----------------

"Ah, I promised Tomoyo-chan I would meet her at 9 o'clock!" Sakura yelped as she tore down the stairs and out the door. Her father called after her.

"Have a good day Sakura-san!"

"Bye!"

She burst out the door into the cool morning air. She couldn't help but to stop and feel the cherry blossoms that were falling gently towards the earth. "It's so pretty…" she sighed happily, feeling the petals against her face.

Against her will, her mind drifted back to the strange dream she had had as she walked forwards. She couldn't help but feel something big was going to happen soon, much like when she had been having the dreams during the time she was changing the Cards.

Sakura shook her head suddenly. There was no use thinking about that time, it was ages ago and plus, Eriol had told her that it was over. _No more games now, _he had said.

Thinking about Eriol brought back memories of days when her life was filled with adventures and excitement. Sure, it was scary at times, but she thoroughly enjoyed it. Plus, Tomoyo had been there to help her, as well as Syaoran…

"Syaoran-kun…" she mumbled, a small smile spreading slowly across her face. They had kept in close contact during his absence and they had even phoned each other a few times. But she couldn't help but wish that he could come visit…

"Oof!" she cried out suddenly, as she ran into something soft. More accurately, she crashed into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Are you alright?" their voices rang out simultaneously, and she finally looked up.

"Eh…?" Sakura didn't recognise the face. He seemed to be her age, and had fiery red spiky hair that stood up on what seemed like its own accord, as if the owner wasn't trying to look cool or anything but had let the hair have its own way. He had a kind smile and was reaching out a hand to help her up. But what struck her most were his intense ruby eyes. Something like that could NOT be natural.

_He's kinda cute…_she thought hazily as she looked into his eyes. Suddenly, she blinked. Was it just her or had she seen a flash of purple…? Strange…

"Miss? Are you alright?" His simple question brought her out of her reverie, and she smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to space out," she accepted his hand and he pulled her up.

'_Oh…I feel so floaty…sorta warm and happy…' _Sakura could feel her cheeks warming up for no particular reason as she was pulled on to her feet. _'Wait…I couldn't be…could I?'_

A small blush spread across the redhead's face as he noticed the look on the other girl. She was really spacey…but the way she was blushing was making him uncomfortable. Of course, it couldn't do anything drastic; he had Riku.

"I'm Niwa Daisuke. Nice to meet you." He bowed politely, bringing her back to reality.

"Oh, I'm sorry for not introducing myself! I'm Kinomoto Sakura! Nice to meet you too!" she replied with her usual cheerfulness, also bowing. Daisuke smiled; she may be spacey, but she was quite nice too.

"Are you new around here? I've never seen you before." Sakura asked curiously. Daisuke blushed for no particular reason and nodded.

"Yeah, our family is here for a little holiday. We're staying in that house over the--oh no…" the redhead trailed off as he suddenly realised that he had NO idea which direction the house was in. "The house over…"

Sakura giggled. "You're lost aren't you? Do you want me to help you find it?"

Daisuke blushed as he shook his head. "No! I'm sure you have somewhere to go too! But it's a really big house…I remember it's got a big fireplace and a huge library in it…"

'_A big fireplace?' _Sakura thought to herself. It sounded familiar…

"…we were told that it was uninhabited for many years, so we rented it for a bit." The redhead finished, smiling sheepishly. "It doesn't really matter though; I can just wander around for a bit."

"Are you sure? It won't be nice to get lost in Tomoeda," Sakura insisted worriedly. "You should stay away from the woods. Some people say it's _haunted._"

Daisuke laughed at her worried antics. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. But I should be going now, and I'm sure you have to too, Kinomoto-san." He turned to go.

"Ah, please call me Sakura!" she called out, making him pause. "Ok, Niwa-kun?" she asked. Daisuke smiled, looking back at her.

"Sure, Sakura-san, but please call me Daisuke."

"Ok, bye Daisuke-kun!"

"See you later Sakura-san!"

With that, he disappeared. Only then did Sakura start pondering again.

"Hmm…" she mused. "Could that be Clow Reed's house he's staying in…"

A loud ticking made her forget her questions in a hurry. "Phwee?.! _5 to 9?.! _I'm going to be laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate!"

Daisuke smiled to himself as he heard the auburn haired girl tearing down the streets. She was nice, if not a little spacey…but there was something strange about her. Something he couldn't put his finger on…

"What do you think…?" The softly spoken question echoed slightly in the early morning air.

"…Dark?"

----------

"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura gasped out, finally arriving at Penguin Park. "Sorry, am I late?"

Tomoyo smiled. "Don't worry Sakura-chan, I just got here anyway." She had truly grown to be very beautiful. Her long black hair, deep inquisitive amethyst eyes and pale, smooth skin gave her the look of a role model in making.

"So, why did you call me out here Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura finally got around to asking as she tried to get her breath back.

Tomoyo smiled mysteriously. "Oh, you'll find out soon. But there was something I wanted to see at Tsukimine Shrine. Can we go there now?"

"Sure…" Sakura looked confused as they started walking off. What could Tomoyo possibly be talking about? She was so mysterious sometimes…

As they neared the shrine, Sakura suddenly remembered what she had wanted to talk to Tomoyo about. "Oh guess what Tomoyo-chan?"

Tomoyo looked at her. "What?"

"I think someone's moved into Clow Reed's house!" she thought it over a bit. "Well, rented it anyway…"

"Really? That's interesting. Why do you think that?" Tomoyo replied, looking up at the sky. Sakura smiled cheerfully.

"Well, this morning I ran into someone on the way to Penguin Park, and he said that his family had rented a large house with a big fireplace and library for a bit."

"What was he like? How old do you think he was?"

"Well…he looked about my age and he's really nice. His name is Niwa Daisuke." Sakura said happily. "He has really bright red hair and red eyes! It's nice that there are some new people here." _And for some reason, I couldn't help feeling warm and happy when I'm around him…_she thought silently, although she kept it quiet.

"I see…ah, here we are!" Tomoyo pointed ahead, and sure enough, there they were. "Could you wait here for me a bit Sakura-chan? I just want to see something." The black haired girl giggled slightly before leaving her, a little devious glint in her eye.

"Phwee…Tomoyo…chan…" Sakura trailed off as she realised her friend had already disappeared. She looked around a bit; this place hadn't changed much, and it still sold those charms…

Sakura giggled as she remembered when she had found out about those charms. She and Syaoran had practically rushed over to buy one when the Maze card appeared.

Speaking of which, there was a boy standing next to the charms stall. A teenage boy with messy brown hair and amber eyes, holding a particular teddy with wings in his hand…

"Oh my gosh…" she whispered, green eyes wide. She took a few tentative steps forward, as if in a dream. When she neared him, she managed to whisper something.

"Syaoran-kun…?"

The boy turned to face her. He smiled. "Sakura-chan…I'm back."

Sakura smiled back gently. "So I don't have to settle for letters and phone calls anymore?"

"Not anymore."

Tears came to Sakura's eyes as she flung her arms around Syaoran's body. "Then we'll be together forever!"

From the bushes, Tomoyo smiled as she lowered her camera. "I'll leave you alone now Sakura-chan, Li-kun…" she whispered, standing up to leave.

She exited the shrine, making sure that the two didn't notice her leave. Now for what she should do…

"Maybe I'll go to Sakura-chan's house to wait for her…" Tomoyo wondered aloud, heading towards her best friend's house.

---

"Hm?" Tomoyo looked surprised as she noticed a person standing outside the Kinomoto residence, looking up at it. He had strange blue hair, and it almost seemed as if he was analysing the house.

"Excuse me?" she asked kindly. "Are you lost? If you are, I can help you." He looked over to her, and she noticed that he had stunning blue eyes. She had expected to see at least a bit of surprise in his eyes, but there was nothing. It was almost as if he was locking them out.

"No…I'm fine." He replied softly, walking away.

"Oh my…" she mused, watching him go. "He must be new here. Maybe he's with that family Sakura-chan talked about?"

She thought about it for a bit more before she finally entered the house. She was greeted by an energetic (as usual) plushie.

"'Ey, hey Tomoyo!" he cried out, flying up to meet her. "Where's Sakura?"

Tomoyo smiled. "Hello Kero-chan. Sakura-chan's with Li-kun, so I decided to come back here."

Kero choked. "What?.! _That _little brat is back?.!"

Tomoyo laughed. "Kero-chan! That's not very nice."

He shrugged. "Yeah, well, I don't do nice with brats like him!"

"Where's Kinomoto-san anyway?"

"Oh, he's gone out to work, and the big bro's gone off to college. So it looks like it's just me and you for now!"

"Yep, looks it." Tomoyo laughed.

"Yeah! Oh, can you get some of those yummy cookies out for me? Sakura made some but she won't let me touch them…and the lid is too heavy for me to open!"

"Kero-chan!"

"Awww…and I was hoping we could have a bit of fun…" the 'fearsome' Creature of the Seal sulked, floating off rather miserably.

Tomoyo sighed, although she was giggling inside. "Oh fine…I'll go get some cake ok?"

He perked up immediately. "Yay! Remember, chocolate flavour, with EXTRA icing, and EXTRA chocolate on it!"

"I'll remember Kero-chan!" she laughed as she headed out the door. "I'll be back soon!"

"Bye! And come back quickly!" He called, waving. The door shut before he was once more alone in the house.

"Oh, I hope she comes back with that cake quickly!" he felt like doing a happy dance as he sat down at the window, watching Tomoyo go.

"…huh?" He could feel something…he could feel a lot of power outside the house, and it didn't seem quite far either. He looked outside.

There was nobody there. Kero frowned to himself. Strange…but he could definitely feel something. Maybe if he was in his true form, he would be able to pinpoint it more easily.

Stepping away from the window, he let the wings surround him as he changed into his large, Guardian Beast form. Kero tried to concentrate on where the magic was coming from…

"Hm…there's quite a lot in Tomoeda lately…" he muttered, concentrating. "The strongest right now…on the roof?"

Kero frowned. If there was a strong magician on the _roof _of the Kinomoto residence, then that was not good. Turning back into his false form, he quietly snuck out a back window, making sure that he was not seen, and floated up slowly to the roof.

'Huh?' he thought in confusion. Sitting quite comfortably on the roof was a young teen with spiky red hair. A little white rabbit with bright red eyes sat next to him, and they were both looking out at the town.

'Is he the one I'm feeling with that magic?' Kero pondered, landing on the roof and watching him.

The boy stroked the rabbit, sighing a bit. "I wonder what mum wants us to do here…she's so confusing sometimes isn't she With?"

"Kyu…"

'Kyu? No rabbit goes 'kyuu'!'

"I hope we don't have another 'job' tonight…I still got lots of holiday homework to do. And I promised Riku-san that I would call her tonight." The redhead looked down at With, who kyuu-ed happily in reply.

"Sheesh With…you don't understand what I say do you? You only understand what Dark says…and that's not much either."

'Right, is this guy crazy? He's talking to the rabbit…and he expects it to understand! And…is he talking about the Dark card?'

"Kyu?"

"Oh look, someone's coming…maybe it's one of Sakura-san's friends." The teen stood up against the wind. "Come on With, let's go--what did you find there?"

'Hey, how does he know Sakura?.!...Ulp.'

"Kyu!" That 'rabbit' was sniffing and poking at him like some _soft toy_! Oh, he'll show that rabbit--if only that boy wasn't standing right there…there was no other option than to pretend that he really was a soft toy…

Unless…

Kero inched closer to the edge of the roof, making sure that he still looked like a lifeless doll. With cocked his head in confusion as the little yellow toy suddenly rolled over and plummeted off the edge.

'Freedom!'

…or not.

'Owwwwwww!'

Damn, that kid just grabbed him before he could fall too far--by his _tail _of all things! Didn't people these days have any respect for cute fluffy animals these days?

"Hey…this wasn't here before was it?" Large ruby orbs looked inquisitively at the little plushie with wings.

"Heh, good thing I caught it before it fell…huh?" Kero started panicking as the boy suddenly decided to take a closer look at him, making it even harder to pretend he was just a toy. Sheesh, this kid was worse than Touya!

"Hey…you're a funny little fellow." The boy mumbled, feeling his wings. "You sure you're just a stuffed toy? These wings feel kinda real…"

Oh _no_. This guy was definitely worse than Touya!

"Hehe, just kidding, of course you're just a soft toy! Come on With, someone's here." Kero breathed an internal sigh of relief as the boy made his decision. Now if only he would let go of him…

"Maybe I'll take you home to show mum…" _Oh no please don't do that! I can't keep this stuffed toy impersonation for that long! _"…nah, you probably belong to Sakura-san. Maybe she lost it a long time ago…doesn't look that old though." He shook Kero a bit as if to prove his point, peering at it sceptically. Making up his mind, the boy smiled and jumped off the roof. Noticing an open window (the one Kero had come out of) he slipped the Guardian inside.

"A little present for you Sakura-san." He whispered before disappearing. Which left Kero inside, feeling very, _very _relieved. He was _never _doing that again.

"Kero-chan?" Tomoyo asked, coming into view with a box in her hand.

"Owwwwwww my tail…" Kero groaned, rubbing that little puffy bit against his face. "Little brat…"

"Huh? Kero-chan, what happened?" Tomoyo cocked her head in confusion, eyeing the Creature of the Seal. She placed the box on the kitchen table and started cutting it up.

"There was some kid on the roof and he--CAKE!" Kero suddenly screamed joyfully, cannonball-ing across the air and landing beside the scrumptious object. "Oh yes, cake cake CAKE!" he sang, watching intently as the girl cut a big slice for him.

"Yay! Tomoyo, you're the best!"

Tomoyo laughed. "No problem Kero-chan!"

"Yum, yum, yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…" Kero sighed in contentment, finishing his slice rather quickly. He burped, feeling satisfied.

"Ah…that was beautiful…"

"Oh, and Sakura-chan and Li-kun are going to be coming over soon. He told me that he would, so they should be coming any second now…"

As if right on cue, the front door opened and the sound of someone stepping inside was heard.

"Hello? Anybody home?"

"Sakura-chan, we're in the kitchen!"

"Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura came into view, smiling broadly. "Tomoyo-chan! Kero-chan!...you didn't touch my cookies did you Kero-chan?"

Kero waved a hand dismissively, too full to move. "Of course not Sakura…not with this delicious cake that Tomoyo brought sitting _open _on the table…"

"Kero-chan…" Sakura sighed, shaking her head. "You're such a pig."

"Hey--where's the brat?" he suddenly asked, looking around.

"Syaoran-kun?" she immediately perked up. "Oh, he said he needed to get something from his apartment and he would meet us here!"

Kero grumbled something incoherent which made Sakura frown, but she ignored it. She was pretty used to it anyway.

"And guess what Kero-chan? I think someone's rented Clow Reed's house!"

Kero gaped. _"What?.!"_

Sakura blinked, wondering why he was so…well, so surprised. "Yeah…I ran into someone on my way to meet Tomoyo-chan, and he said that his family had rented the house for a holiday."

Kero crossed his arms, thinking. "Hm…what did this person look like?"

"Well, he looked my age, and he had spiky red hair and red eyes and he's very kind! He kinda reminds me of Eriol-kun…" she mused, thinking that the two really were quite similar.

"Red hair? Red eyes?" Kero asked incredulously. That sounded like the kid that was on the Kinomoto's roof!

"Yup! And his name is Niwa Daisuke!" Sakura nodded cheerfully. "Why? Have you seen him around?"

"Not only that…but he was on your roof just 10 minutes ago!"

Sakura cocked her head in confusion. "Daisuke-kun was on our roof? Why was he there?"

Kero shook his head, signalling that he didn't know. "I don't know but I felt a lot of magic coming from him. And he might know about the Sakura cards, because he said something about Dark, although that makes no sense at all."

"Phwee?.! Daisuke-kun? Power? He knows about the Cards?" Sakura echoed, confused.

Tomoyo looked from one to the other, slightly amused. "Oh, my…" Before Kero could reply, the doorbell rang.

"Oh, that must be Syaoran-kun! But I told him to just let himself in…oh well, I'll go get it!" Sakura called, running down the hallway and opening the door.

"Syaoran-kun, I said you could--phwee?" Sakura halted mid sentence as she noticed the person outside was definitely not Syaoran. Oh no. For one thing, he didn't have light blue hair and clear azure eyes. Nor did he wear glasses.

"Can I help you?" she asked kindly, still smiling.

The boy nodded. "Perhaps you could. I'm new around here, and I was wondering if you could help me with something." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Sure! I'm Kinomoto Sakura, nice to meet you!" she opened the door wider and bowed.

"Hiwatari Satoshi."

"Welcome to Tomoeda Hiwatari-kun! Wow, so many people are coming to Tomoeda…" she mused slightly as she stepped aside to let Satoshi in. He looked up at her words.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first I ran into someone this morning that was new, and then there's you! I mean, not to be rude or anything…" she apologized, feeling flustered. He raised an eyebrow but did not say anything.

"Sakura-chan? Who is it?" Tomoyo appeared in the hallway, holding Kero-as-a-stuffed-toy in her hands.

"Oh Tomoyo-chan! This is Hiwatari Satoshi-kun, and he's new to Tomoeda! Hiwatari-kun, this is Daidouji Tomoyo-chan, she's my best friend."

"Hello Hiwatari-kun. You're the one who was outside before weren't you?"

"Phwee?"

Satoshi nodded, but he was looking at Kero. Tomoyo noticed and smiled. "He's cute isn't he? Sakura-chan told me she had had it ever since she was a kid."

"…"

"Ah, silly me!" Sakura clapped her hands together. "Let's go to the kitchen and I'll get you something to eat and see if I can help you!"

"Thankyou."

Sakura left Tomoyo to take Satoshi to the kitchen, while she went to close the door. Not a minute after she closed it, it was almost immediately thrust open again.

"Phwee!"

--------------------

Ulp, bad, bad, BAD! I'm not very good at writing CCS fanfic you see, and they seem terribly OOC…there's no actual plot AS OF YET. I just did this story cause I just wanted to see what it would be like if these two anime met. The DN Angel characters are slowly seeping their way into the story. Please bear with me, I will develop a plot gradually! But please R&R, I wanna see how this turns out.


	2. Strange People

**Of Light and Dark**

Second chapter of this crazy crossover! x3 what will happen to the gang today? And why was that door thrust open and who did it? Read to find out!

**Chapter 2: Strange People**

"Syaoran-kun!"

Indeed, it was him, standing at the door panting like he had run the entire way from his apartment to Sakura's house.

Sakura cocked her head. "Syaoran-kun? Are you alright? You look like you've been running a long way…"

From the hallway, Satoshi turned his head loftily to look at the boy standing at the door. Their eyes locked, and the azure-haired boy narrowed his eyes. There was something about this boy…

Meanwhile, Syaoran just glared back, although slightly warily. After a minute or so of this, the slightly taller teen looked away.

"Oh! Syaoran-kun, this is Hiwatari Satoshi-kun! He's new to Tomoeda! Hiwatari-kun, this is Li Syaoran-kun."

"Li…" Satoshi seemed to be thinking about something.

"Huh?"

"That's Chinese." He muttered, walking through the hallway to the kitchen.

"?" Syaoran looked at Sakura, who looked at Kero, who shrugged.

"…I think Hiwatari-kun is waiting." Tomoyo pointed out slowly, after deciding that the others weren't going to register that fact any time soon.

"Silly me!" Sakura laughed, pulling Sakura and Tomoyo down to the kitchen. "We shouldn't keep our guests waiting!"

---

"So, Hiwatari-kun, what was it that you needed help on?" Sakura asked, after the slices of cake had been handed out. Satoshi was the only one not touching his.

"As I said, I'm new to Tomoeda, and I would like some assistance in a few…things." He stated calmly, taking off his unnecessary glasses and wiping them.

"Ok!" Sakura agreed cheerfully, as usual, before her curiosity got the better of her. "Um, Hiwatari-kun? Can I ask why you came to Tomoeda?"

Satoshi narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering if he should tell them or not. Would it make much of a difference? No, not really, but it would stop them from asking questions later. He decided to tell them.

"I'm head of the unit for capturing the Phantom Thief in Azumano. But we have a few…clues that lead us to believe that he may strike here in Tomoeda next. I have come to Tomoeda to try target the Thief."

"A Phantom Thief?" Both Sakura and Syaoran echoed. "He must be a very successful Thief if there's a whole unit tracking him." Sakura mused. Wonder what he stole…?

"What does he steal?" Tomoyo asked, watching Satoshi. She was the observant one around here, after all. His eyes flashed a bit before returning to normal.

"Art."

"A Thief who steals art?"

"Priceless art pieces, which if are not--" Satoshi stopped himself before he revealed too much to these people. Sure, he had his own suspicions of them, especially the auburn-haired girl and the boy, but that was no reason to tell them everything.

"If are not?" Sakura prompted him, but he did not give anything else away.

"I need the help of a few young women in Tomoeda. I was wondering if you would lend us your assistance." He looked at her and Tomoyo pointedly.

"Um, w-w-what for?" Sakura blushed, stumbling. At this, Satoshi almost smiled.

"The Phantom Thief is almost vulnerable to young women."

---

The park was empty at this time of day. It was getting late, and most kids had already been pulled by their parents back to their respective homes. All except one person.

Daisuke sat on the swing, wondering about what was in store for him. His mum had promised him that there wouldn't be any jobs without telling him first, but he couldn't be sure of that. But…

The redhead looked around. He _was _sure that he was still lost. He couldn't find his house anywhere. Dark had kindly offered to take over and help him, but he couldn't be sure of that either…

He could always ask someone for help…if there was anyone here. Maybe he could go back and ask Sakura…

"Kyu!" With, who was sitting on his shoulder, pointed a furry white paw towards the edge of the park, where two figures could be seen walking. Daisuke smiled broadly.

"Good job, With!" he praised the rabbit before hopping off the swing and running towards the two. "Excuse me!"

Touya and Yukito turned around in the dark, hearing the voice. To tell the truth, neither of them could see much in the dark night, when the moon was shrouded, so it was a wonder that the person who was calling them could. Not that they knew why he could see them…

"Who's there?" Touya called out loudly. Being tall, and blinded by the darkness, he was looking far too out when a much shorter figure stopped by them, panting.

"Excuse me, but I'm lost. Could you help me please?" The two finally looked down to see a young redhead looking up at them with pleading red eyes.

"Kyu!" A white rabbit with large red eyes was also looking up at them from the kid's shoulder.

Touya frowned, suspicious as usual. "I haven't seen you around before…"

Daisuke smiled, oblivious to the suspicion. "Our family rented a house here in Tomoeda for holiday, but I can't find my way back to it…"

"Don't worry, we help you find it." Yukito offered kindly, crouching down so he was eye level with the redhead. Daisuke had to bite back a complaint at that; it really was annoying when people did that because he was so short.

"Thank you sir!" he bowed politely. "My name is Niwa Daisuke. Nice to meet you!"

Yukito smiled. "Tsukishiro Yukito, nice to meet you too Niwa-kun."

Touya grumbled, but he gave his name anyway. "Kinomoto Touya…" Daisuke perked up at the sound of his surname.

"Oh, are you related to Sakura-san, Kinomoto-san?" he asked cheerfully, smiling his usual, clumsy smile.

"How do you know her?" he asked roughly, his overprotective side starting to appear.

"I met her this morning!" Daisuke replied innocently, looking up at the two. Curse his shortness…

"Well, Niwa-kun, do you know the address to your house?" Yukito interrupted gently, bringing them back to the point. Daisuke blinked, thinking for a minute, then slowly shook his head sheepishly.

"…" And Touya thought Sakura was bad.

"Well, what does it look like?" Yukito continued to prompt him, asking kindly. Daisuke frowned; he could not help feeling like he was being treated like a kid.

"Um, it's a large house…and we were told that it was abandoned for many years…" Daisuke continued to think. What had he told Sakura this morning about his house? Oh yeah…

"And?"

"It's got a large fireplace inside it, and a humungous library, and…" he trailed off, forgetting everything else about it.

He didn't notice the reaction Yukito, or rather, Yue, had to the mention of that house. Before he could stop himself, Yukito blurted out. "You rented Clow Reed's house?.!"

"…?"

"Oh, excuse me…but if that's the house I can help you find your way back." Yukito corrected himself. Daisuke nodded slowly, slightly wary of the two older boys.

"Thank you Tsukishiro-san!"

"No problem."

Touya just grumbled.

---

"So do you understand?" Satoshi asked, standing up to leave. Sakura and Tomoyo nodded, and he gave a slight bow.

"Thank you for your co-operation. I'll be expecting to see you both at the site of the next theft, half an hour before the set time."

"How will we know when that will be?"

"I believe the news will prove a useful source."

"He _announces _his thefts?" Syaoran asked, frowning. He must be one helluva cocky Thief at that.

"…yes. He has…slight advantages in some areas." Satoshi replied. As he left the house, another question popped up in Sakura's head and she ran out to catch him.

"Wait, Hiwatari-kun! What's the Thief's name?" she yelled at the back of the steadily disappearing person. He stopped.

Although she couldn't see it, he smirked. "It's getting dark, Kinomoto. I have to go now." Then he was gone.

"Phwee?" Sakura was confused. She wondered back into the kitchen to the others and collapsed on a seat.

"Aw man, that was too long!" Kero complained, lying dazed on the table top. "I mean, yeah!"

"…a Phantom Thief who makes himself known…he must be very confident about himself." Tomoyo thought out loud.

"Why is he called a Phantom Thief though?" Syaoran asked, frowning in thought. "He must be very special or something…"

"He's not the only one…" Kero muttered, catching everyone's attention.

"What do you mean Kero-chan?"

"Haven't you felt it? Something about that Satoshi." Kero looked at Sakura and Syaoran pointedly, and finally, Syaoran nodded.

"A little bit. Not much though."

"No," Kero agreed. "But it's similar to the type I felt from that Niwa Daisuke this morning."

"What?.!"

"Who?.!"

Both Syaoran and Sakura asked at the same time. They looked at each other, blushing slightly.

"Oh, um, we haven't told you about Daisuke-kun yet have we?"

"No…"

---

"Is this the house?" The three stopped outside a large, spooky house. It was dark, as if nobody was home. Daisuke nodded.

"Yes, this is it. Thankyou very much Tsukishiro-san, Kinomoto-san!" He bowed, and ran up to the door.

"Are you sure there's anyone home? It's completely dark…" Yukito said worriedly, looking at the interior of the house previously occupied by Eriol some 4 years ago. Daisuke smiled almost secretively.

"Don't worry…I see well in the dark." He grinned, and disappeared into the house.

There was silence in the night. "Well…I guess we can go home now…" Yukito suggested, still looking up at the house.

"Are your grandparents home right now?" Touya asked, and Yukito shook his head. He sighed. "Just as I thought…well you shouldn't be walking alone in the dark. Stay at our house overnight, ok?"

"I'm not a kid anymore Touya…"

---

"Onii-chan! Yukito-san! Why are you so late?" Sakura asked, looking at her brother and his friend.

"We were helping a new kid get home."

"Oh?" Sakura asked. "Was it Daisuke-kun?"

"Yeah…that guy. Did you run into him this morning?"

"Ah…yeah…"

"…"

"…can we go into the house yet monster? It's freezing cold out here."

"Oh! Sorry!" she quickly scooted out of the way, letting them in. Touya rolled his eyes.

"Finally…" he muttered, and Sakura, in a fit of anger, stomped hard on his foot.

"ACK!" he yelped, clutching his foot and hopping into the house. She grinned innocently, standing aside to let him pass. Yukito just smiled good naturally at it all.

"Ugh…" Touya grumbled, heading into the bathroom. "By the way, Yuki's gonna be staying overnight. It's too late for him to walk back now."

"Phwee? Really?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"What did I just say?" Her brother rolled his eyes. Sakura fumed.

"Touya!"

She looked up at Yukito who looked down at her. She blushed. He smiled. "So, did anything happen today Sakura-san?"

"Yep! We met two new people in Tomoeda, and, and…Syaoran-kun came back from Hong Kong!"

A loud spluttering was heard from the bathroom. "What?.! That brat is back?.!"

"Touya!"

"…"

"That's good that he's back isn't it?' Yukito smiled, and Sakura nodded furiously.

"Oh! I'll get the spare room ready!" she clapped, and ran off. Yukito sat down at the table, waiting for the other two occupants of the house to finish their respective jobs.

Well, three, if one plushie-like guardian counted. He was currently sitting at the table, watching Yukito. (A/N: Just to make things more interesting, Yukito and Touya know about Kero (and Yue of course))

Kero frowned. He needed to talk to Yue.

"Yue, we need to talk."

"…"

Large white wings surrounded Yukito, and Yue appeared (that sounded lame…). Kero watched him solemnly before asking him.

"…did you feel it?"

"Yes. That boy who has moved into Clow's"-here he inwardly flinched-"house. I feel a lot of magic from him."

"And there was another one. The one who is supposedly hunting a Phantom Thief in our district. A similar magic aura is coming from him."

"Could it be a coincidence that a magician moved into Clow Reed's house? Or do they have an ulterior motive behind it all?"

Kero looked up at him, frowning good naturally. "Stop talking like that Yue. You're creeping me out."

The angel glared at him, and he shrugged. "I dunno…I just say we wait until something happens before we make a move."

Yue raised an eyebrow. "And possibly be too late to do anything about it?"

"Well…I don't know. But I talked to the Cards this morning. Light, Dark, and Mirror. The Light and the Dark seem to know that something's going to happen. And they said a lot of light and dark magic is gathering in Tomoeda."

"…Sakura might need to take the Cards with her again."

Kero nodded. "That's what I thought too. But that Niwa Daisuke is also quite suspicious. He was on the roof this morning, talking about some gibberish or the other. He mentioned something about Dark too, but I have no idea what he meant."

"On the _roof_?"

"Don't ask me…"

"Yukito-san! I got the room ready--oh! Y-Y-Yue!" Sakura stuttered, noticing the imposing angel standing in the house.

Yue inclined his head. Kero sighed. "There you go again Yue, freaking Sakura out."

"Kero-chan, I'm not freaked out!"

"Sure, sure…"

"I'm serious!" Sakura insisted indignantly. Yue sighed.

"I'm returning to my temporary form…"

---

That night, as Sakura lay in bed waiting for Kero to finish bickering with Touya about something and to come upstairs, she couldn't help but to get her Cards out of her drawer.

She sat at the table, looking at each of the Cards in turn. "What's going to happen…?" she whispered, holding the deck of cards against her heart. "What _is _happening? Can you tell me?"

Sakura placed the Cards back on the table and was about to put them away when the Cards suddenly glowed. "Phwee?"

Three Cards floated out from the pile and she picked them up.

"Sword…Illusion…Mirror." She frowned, looking at the three in her hand. "What does that mean?"

Just then, Kero floated into her room, muttering darkly. He noticed her sitting at the table in a daze and went over to her. "Yo, what are you doing with the Cards Sakura?"

"Oh, hello Kero-chan. I was just looking at the Cards and I asked them a few questions. Then these three cards came out." She held the said Cards out to the plushie and he looked through each of them.

"Hm…these 3 are different from the ones from this morning…" he mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"This morning, the Light, the Dark and the Mirror came up. Seems that this new obstacle needs more than 3 cards to describe with, although Mirror is still there…"

"So what do they mean Kero-chan?" Sakura asked earnestly, eager to find out.

"Well, Sword usually means a challenge is ahead or something, and Illusion could mean that not everything is as it seems. Mirror…I don't know why Mirror showed up though."

"…" Sakura frowned, putting away the Cards and flopping down on to her bed. "So much has happened today…"

"So what you gonna do tomorrow?" Kero asked, turning off the light. She shrugged, turning over in her bed.

"I was going to spend some time with Syaoran-kun but he said he had some business to take care of, and Tomoyo's mum is taking her out. So I thought I might go over to that new museum that just opened up."

"New museum eh?" Kero asked, floating over to his drawer. "So what's it show? Science? Old stuff? What?"

"I think…Tomoyo said…" she yawned sleepily. "It displayed…art…"

"Art hey? Interesting…" Kero said, but she was already asleep. He smiled. "She's had a long day."

He looked over to the Clow Book on the table. "I know she'll take care of whatever it is the Cards predicted."

"She has her invincible spell after all." Kero patted her on the head then slipped into his drawer.

In her sleep, Sakura mumbled.

"_I'm sure I'll be alright…"_

---

Boooooo. D: I'm not very happy about this. Although this one is better than the one I had originally written. That one lacked the suspense, so I stuck with this one. Yeah, she goes to the museum the next day…please R&R!


	3. Meetings at the Museum

**Of Light and Dark**

Well, I'm really hoping this will work out, because I have two versions of this chapter…so please leave your opinions behind! And sorry, I got my chapters mixed up and told some people that the theft was gonna happen in this chapter, but that's another one! Sorry! -bows apolegetically-

**Chapter 3: Meetings at the Museum**

"Wow…" Sakura breathed in awe, looking up at the building before her. The museum was huge, and had only recently opened. She looked around. It was pretty crowded for some reason.

"Wonder why there are so many people here? It's not like it just opened today or something…" she frowned, walking past the sign with the huge map of the museum on it. She was wearing a black cap and a light pink turtleneck shirt with black three quarter pants.

"Ah, one student please!" Sakura chirped, holding out her ID card to the woman at the register. The woman smiled and motioned for her to go on in. It was lucky that high school students could go in for free.

"Whoa…it's beautiful." She whispered, looking at the grand structure of the museum. There were elaborate designs on the ceilings as well as on the pillars that stood in the corners of every room. Beneath her feet, instead of ordinary tiles, was a large mosaic that stretched from one side of the museum to the other. She couldn't see what it was clearly yet obviously, seeing as it was such a large mosaic.

There were different galleries displaying different pieces of art. There was the oil paintings gallery, abstract, sculptures and many more. Sakura took her time to go through all of them and admire every single piece of work. After all, she had all day.

"Wow, this must be the prettiest one so far!" she exclaimed stopping at a particular exhibit. In the centre of the room, contained by a glass container, was a small blown-glass statue (you know, those little glass things they make by blowing them or something).

It was in the shape of a tear drop (a very large tear drop) and if you looked closely, you would see, forever suspended in the middle of the tear, a continuous swirl of black and white.

Sakura looked at the information stand next to it. In bold letters at the top was the name 'Eternal Tear' (lame, I know…).

"That's a nice name…" she mused, running a finger down the information screen.

"It's quite fitting isn't it?"

"Phwee?.!" She jumped around, heart pounding. It relaxed when she noticed the familiar face. "Daisuke-kun! You surprised me!"

Daisuke smiled kindly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"That's alright." After she regained her breath, she looked up again. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just having a look at some of the art here…they're really beautiful, don't you agree?" He looked over to the Eternal Tear in an almost fond type of way.

"Yeah, I guess…" Needless to say, Sakura was not an art person. "What did you mean when you said that name was fitting?'

"Well, if you think about it…" he started. "This tear will always be like that right? It will never change, no matter what. But that's not all."

"It isn't?" Sakura asked stupidly. He shook his head.

"No. Look at that bit of black and white in the tear. It's an endless swirl, always continuing in the small world inside the tear, where no outside force can disturb it. That swirl is forever, eternal…it's almost like Yin and Yang. Equally in balance with each other and others around it." he smiled, and it was as if he was lost in a world of his own where art was the most important thing.

"There's more to art than most people think. It's not just something to look at, to be hung up for decoration. It needs to be appreciated, understood and most of all, _loved_. Art is alive in many ways. They all have souls, and feelings, and they can't just be dismissed as nothing. How much does it take for people to realise that…?" he whispered the last bit, then shook his head apologetically.

"Sorry, here I am rambling about art when you're probably thinking I'm a weirdo!" he laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Sakura shook her head earnestly.

"No of course not! I mean, it's clear you love art, so who am I to call you strange just because I'm not an art person?"

Daisuke smiled. "Thanks."

"Daisuke-kun, are you an artist?" Sakura asked. He seemed surprised.

"Yes, I am. How did you know?"

"Well, it's just the way your eyes looked when you were talking about the art…they seemed so happy and passionate about it, so there was no doubt about it!" she laughed at the expression on his face.

Daisuke was blushing big time. "Um, um…" he quickly changed the subject. "So why are you here Sakura-san?"

"Me? I just decided to look around too." She admitted, still smiling. Suddenly, her stomach growled and she held it in embarrassment. "Oh dear…"

Daisuke laughed. "Look whose hungry…why don't we go have some lunch?" He smiled at her.

_His eyes…they're so sweet…they remind of Yukito-san's. _Sakura thought, looking into his deep ruby orbs. She felt her face heating up. _Why am I thinking this?.! I love Syao--ulp._

"Sakura-san? Are you alright?" Daisuke asked, waving a hand in front of her face. She blushed, looking up.

"Sorry, I'm really spacey these days, you know?" she laughed nervously, punching the side of her head lightly.

"That's ok. Now how about that lunch?" he smiled, and she blushed again, out of pure embarrassment.

"I forgot to bring my money…"

"No problem. My treat." He offered gentlemanly. She blushed.

"I-If you're sure about it…"

"Absolutely."

"Well then, ok!" she smiled cheerily, which made him smile.

"Shall we go?" he held out a hand, which she took happily. "I heard they make excellent food here."

As the two left the gallery, a middle-aged woman with short honey brown hair and amber eyes hidden by sunglasses entered. Looking around swiftly, she withdrew a white card from her pocket and quickly slipped it on the information stand next to the Eternal Tear.

Smiling to herself, the woman left quietly, unnoticed. The card lay, back side up, unnoticed by the world.

---

"So, um, Daisuke-kun. Can you tell me about where you live?" Sakura asked, taking a small bite of her sandwich. It was true; they really did make great food here.

"Where I live?" Daisuke repeated. "Well…I live in the town of Azumano. Do you know where that is?" She nodded. "It's a nice place, and there's plenty of art museums there." He smiled fondly. "I had lots of friends there."

"Hm…Azumano, Azumano…" Sakura pondered, trying to remember something. "I think I know someone from there…but I can't remember who it is!"

"Sakura-san?"

"…got it!" Sakura cried out triumphantly, drawing the looks of people around them. "Ehehe, sorry!" she laughed sheepishly, flapping her hand.

"So, um, who was it that you knew from Azumano? I might know him or her." Daisuke asked, prompting her.

"I just met him yesterday actually." Sakura admitted. "He wears glasses, has blue hair and blue eyes and his name is Hiwatari Satoshi!" she announced.

"Phwee?" Sakura noticed the look of surprise on the redhead's face. "Daisuke-kun, is something wrong?"

"Hiwatari-kun is here in Tomoeda too?.!" He asked incredulously, and she nodded.

"So you _do _know him?"

"Yeah, he was one of my friends back in Azumano…" Daisuke rubbed the back of his head, looking away. "I should have known he would be though, I guess."

"Phwee? Why?" Sakura asked curiously. Why did he think that?

"Ahahaha, no reason…" Daisuke flapped his hand awkwardly, dismissing it. "Um, Sakura-san, what school do you go to?" The redhead asked, changing the subject.

She didn't notice it though. "I go to Seijou High with my best friend Tomoyo-chan! It's right next to Tomoeda Elementary, where I used to go. I'm starting (A/N: I'm not sure of schooling in Japan, so here goes…) 9th grade this year. How about you?" She replied cheerfully.

"I go to Azumano Junior High, and just like you, I'm starting 9th grade." He responded, smiling his usual smile.

"How about Hiwatari-kun, is he in your year level?"

"Well, yes…but he's actually already graduated from college. He's so smart that he's already a high ranking police officer! But he told me he wanted to go back through high school again like a normal 14 year old." Daisuke laughed nervously. "Riku-san says she thinks that he's too smart for his own good!"

"Whoa…and he's only _14_?.! That's amazing!" Sakura gasped. "I can't believe it!"

"It's true."

"Um, who's Riku-san?" Sakura asked. Daisuke blushed profusely, his face almost the same colour as his hair.

"S-s-s-she's my um…she's my--" he stuttered, utterly embarrassed. Sakura finished for him.

"Your girlfriend?" At this, Daisuke blushed even more, looking as red as a tomato. "Can you tell me about her?"

Daisuke stood up abruptly. "Please excuse me!" he yelled, flustered, putting down some money hurriedly and exiting the café, his face completely red and heart pounding painfully against his chest. "BYE!"

"Phwee?"

Around the corner, safely hidden in the shadows, Daisuke gasped. Damn, he nearly blew it! Nothing he could do now, it had already triggered a reaction…

In his spot was a tall, teen with long purple hair and sharp amethyst eyes. He grinned, putting on a hat and a pair of dark sunglasses.

"My turn now Daisuke."

---

After Daisuke's abrupt departure, Sakura finished her sandwich and wandered back into the gallery containing the Eternal Tear. It was so pretty, she couldn't get her mind off it.

"I wonder who made it…?" she mused, peering down at the information stand again. But her mind quickly forgot all about her original intentions as she noticed a white card sitting on the stand. Confused, she picked it up and flipped it around.

_Tonight at 8pm, I will be taking the Eternal Tear from the Tomoeda Art Museum._

_**-DARK**_

She gasped. "What…?"

Suddenly, a shriek came from behind her. Apparently someone was looking over her back.

"OH MY GOD! SOMEBODY, KAITOU DARK IS STRIKING HERE!"

And then…there was chaos. People seemed to start filling the room, all scrambling to get a look at the newest target. Sakura had to constantly struggle to get out of the way. And then the cameras came.

"Who found the notice first?.!"

"This young girl here, ma'am!"

A microphone was shoved in her face and the reporter whispered to her. "We're going on live in…3…2…1!"

"Phwee?.!"

"We come to you with urgent news from the recently opened Tomoeda Art Museum! A notice from a thief has just been found by this young girl here--what's your name miss?"

"K-K-Kinomoto Sakura." Sakura was officially terrified out of her wits.

"Miss Kinomoto, did you notice anything suspicious when you found it?"

"I just found it right then!"

Suddenly, a loud bellow interrupted her. "I WAS THE ONE WHO CALLED THE PEOPLE IN!" The camera swung to the speaker, and Sakura gladly escaped.

Outside, a man wearing a floppyblack hatsmirked.

---

Touya spluttered in the middle of eating his lunch (he has a different schedule in university every day) at the sight on the TV.

"Sakura?.!" He choked, spilling his food.

---

Satoshi looked up from his position at his laptop to the TV. There was a picture of a familiar girl on the screen, who seemed to be extremely frightened. "So the first one has appeared…" he muttered before turning back to his laptop.

---

"Ph-phwee…" Sakura gasped out in relief, collapsing on to the floor outside the museum. She remained there for a few minutes, trying to regain her breath. The sound of approaching footsteps made her look up, to see a very tall figure standing above her.

"Are you alright miss?" asked a low voice. She chuckled nervously, standing up shakily.

"I-I'm fine, just a little startled by what happened in there…" she laughed, pointing to the museum. The stranger followed her finger, amused.

"I see…" now that she got a closer look at him, she decided that he was quite…unique, in terms of hair. He had long purple hair that poked out even from under the floppy black hat that he was wearing. He had on a casual grey hoodie and long black pants. Strange to say, the clothes looked familiar to her, and it seemed as if they were a little tight for the man. She couldn't see his eyes because they were covered by black sunglasses.

"What's happening in there?" he asked, inclining his head in the direction of the museum.

Sakura shrugged. "I'm not too sure…all I know is that I found this notice card by a sculpture and then all these people just appeared…"

A fine purple eyebrow was raised. "Really now? What was on that notice?"

"Um...it was announcing a theft I think…by someone called 'Dark'."

He chuckled. It was a low one, but it seemed to suit him just fine. "Interesting. Strange that he would actually announce himself to the world, don't you think?"

"I don't know…I don't really know who he is at all. But I do suppose he's putting himself at risk by doing that though."

The man looked surprised. "You don't know who Dark is?" he asked incredulously. Sakura shook her head.

"He's the infamous Phantom Thief Dark." He couldn't help smirking at that. "He could never be captured back in Azumano."

"Oh, you used to live in Azumano, sir?" Sakura asked inquisitively. There were a lot of people from Azumano. He looked at her from behind his dark glasses.

"Don't call me that, I'm not that old. After all…" he smirked teasingly. "I'm only 17."

"S-s-sorry…" she apologized, bowing. She was fascinated. He didn't look like 17 to her; in fact he seemed much more mature.

"No worries. As for your question, yes, I did use to live there. He would strike regularly there, and needless to say, all women were big fans of him." He smirked.

Sakura was confused. "Why? I mean, he's a criminal isn't he?"

"Why?" he repeated. "I guess it's just because of his looks. Many girls swoon as soon as they see him."

"But…" Sakura frowned. "They don't know he really is then do they? I mean, in that way, they only care about how he looks, and not what he's like personality-wise…if I was Dark, I wouldn't go for anyone who only cared about my looks and not who I really was!" she finished adamantly. The man looked amused by her opinion.

"Yes…that is true. Very true indeed." He smiled, intrigued by this girl. "So why are you here at the museum?"

"Oh, just looking around. So are you new around here then?" Sakura smiled. Boy, there were a lot of new people these days.

"I suppose you could say that." There went that smirk again.

"Are you here alone?" She asked curiously. He seemed surprised.

"Oh heavens no, of course not. I hope you're not."

Sakura giggled. "I didn't mean if you moved here with your family or not, I meant are you alone here at the museum."

"Ah, I see…" his face softened. "No, I'm not here alone. I'm with…some relatives, you could say.''

He really was such a mysterious person, what with his indirect ways of answering her questions and everything.

A woman emerged from the museum, clutching a hat to her honey brown hair and removing her sunglasses. She looked around, and was about to call to the purple haired man when she noticed that he was with company.

"Dar--I mean, um, Dai-chan!" she called, waving her hand energetically. She nearly blew it! Hopefully he heard her…

Luckily, he did. 'Dai-chan' turned and noticed the woman, and he smirked. "Coming…" he turned back to Sakura. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you miss, but I really have to be going now…"

"Oh, that's alright!" Sakura smiled. "Is that your mum?"

"In a way." The mysterious smirk was back again.

"Oh, um, may I ask your name?" Sakura asked politely, albeit a bit bewildered at his previous answer.

He grinned. "You can call me…" He tipped his sunglasses at her, and she momentarily saw flashing purple eyes before they were once again hidden behinds black lenses. "You can call me Daisuke."

He turned away, walking towards the woman.

"Phwee?" This man seriously puzzled her…and he had the same name as Niwa Daisuke. Coincidence? I think not. But Sakura sure did.

'Daisuke' neared the woman, smirking. "From all this screaming, I take it you got it in, Emiko?"

Emiko smiled cheerfully as usual. "Of course! We're a professional family! That was easy for me!"

He chuckled. "You nearly slipped up there Emiko. But don't worry, she doesn't suspect."

"Oh?" Emiko cocked her head. "Well, did you manage to take a little look around?"

He sighed good-naturally. "Emiko, Emiko…what do you take me for? I'm a professional."

Emiko laughed. "Of course…by the way, what did you tell her your name was?"

Dark smirked, removing his sunglasses. "Simple. I told her I was Daisuke."

---

Dun, dun, DUN! Sakura meets both Dark and Daisuke! -sighs- whew, that was hard. First I only did her meeting Dark, then I decided to try with Daisuke, and they both turned out so well I couldn't cut them out! So I managed to put BOTH of them in! Yay!

If you're wondering about why Sakura always go floaty when she sees Daisuke, go read CCS volume 5 and CCS: Master of the Clow volume…2 or 1 I think, and you might understand a bit more.

You might also be wondering why Dark has so much anonymity; that's cause it kinda ruins the effect if I just outright say Dark…confusing? I agree.

Anyway, please R&R!


	4. My Wings of Black

**Of Light and Dark**

Yes well, we go to Dark's theft tonight. Enjoy -waves flag half-heartedly-.

**Chapter 4: My Wings of Black**

"Hiwatari-kun!" Sakura called out, spotting the blue-haired boy amongst the crowd. She pulled Tomoyo and Syaoran with her towards Satoshi.

"Can you explain it _one _more time to us please?" She asked sheepishly, looking down at her feet. Satoshi sighed.

"What you need to do is to try following him throughout the museum as he attempts to get away. Start in the room of the artefact and you _must _stop him from getting to the roof. Use any means possible, and remember that he has a thing for young woman." He looked at Tomoyo and Sakura coolly, who quivered under his gaze.

"I don't care if it's degrading, shameful, or humiliating. As long as he's stopped." He ordered, not noticing the redness on the two's face.

"But why the roof? It's not like there are any other roof tops he can get away on." Syaoran frowned, not liking the plan very much.

"Because he is no ordinary thief." He replied shortly. "Get to your positions, it's nearly 8 o'clock." Satoshi turned away again to face the museum. "And maybe we can do this _without interruptions_." He muttered to himself.

Sakura had to remind herself that Satoshi was _only _her age, and that it must be a lot of pressure for a 14 year old to handle all these things. He acted so mature though, it was no wonder she felt slightly afraid of him.

"Come on Tomoyo-chan." She pulled on the hand of her friend while waving to Syaoran. "We'll see you after Syaoran-kun!" she called, running off towards the museum.

"Be careful!" Syaoran replied, still frowning. He didn't like the thought of leaving them alone, so he looked around for a way to be able to watch what was happening.

"Ah ha!" Quickly, Syaoran climbed up a tree at the back of the museum, and he sat there, watching the roof where they were bound to turn up sooner or later. "Be careful Sakura-chan."

---

Dark smirked, flying through the night sky towards the museum. The first theft was always the best; the police wouldn't know what hit them.

He imagined most of them were a lot like old Saehara back in Azumano; thinking he was just some petty thief whose 'wings' were actually just a rope dropped down from a nearby building.

Dark snorted, swooping down so that he was in full view of the people of Tomoeda. After all, he needed to announce his presence before he got to work.

The effect was pleasing. Even with all this noise, he could hear the collective gasps of the crowd as they saw his wings. The police were merely gaping, useless people standing around the museum. They were _so _gullible, those people.

He smirked. "Time to get to work."

---

"It's so…dark…" Sakura whispered, looking around her fearfully. She and Tomoyo were in the exhibit containing the Tear, waiting for the Thief to show up.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan." Tomoyo told her reassuringly. "You've been through much worse than this before! Plus, you have the Cards with you don't you?"

Sakura nodded slowly, but it still didn't help her feeling of unease. "But all these artworks seem so scary in the dark. And we're trying to stop a thief too! What if he tries to kill us, or something like that?.!"

Tomoyo laughed at her friend's nervousness. "Don't worry; I'm sure Hiwatari-kun wouldn't put us here if this thief was dangerous. And the art isn't that scary; just think of it as the results of the artists' emotions and you would probably feel much better."

"It doesn't help…I keep thinking that they're going to lunge out at me. It makes me think that they're alive…" she trailed off, remembering what Daisuke was talking to her earlier in this very exhibit.

"_Art is alive in many ways. They all have souls, and feelings, and they can't just be dismissed as nothing. How much does it take for people to realise that…?"_

She shivered; Daisuke had seemed so earnest when he had said that, almost as if he was talking not to her, but to the actual art itself.

Sakura noticed a dark shadow flit across the room out of the corner of her eye, but she payed it no attention. "Tomoyo-chan? What time do you think it is?"

There was no answer.

"Tomoyo-chan?.!" Suddenly, she felt a gloved hand close over her mouth.

"Don't move or I might have to get rough…" A low, playful voice whispered in her ear, accompanied by a low chuckle. Sakura's eyes widened. This voice seemed familiar…

"Daisuke-san?" She asked, struggling to turn around and look at her captor. He seemed surprised, also a little fearful.

"What?.!" He hissed, struggling to keep her still. "What are you talking about?"

She managed to pry his hand off her mouth and she turned around, coming face to face with him. "Are you the one I met at the museum earlier?"

Sakura wasn't too sure, but she thought she saw his face visibly relax when she said that. But, whether it was there or not, it didn't seem to matter anymore as a playful smirk reached his face.

"You could call me that, but I suggest that you clear that out of your head. Let me introduce myself."

He stepped back, long purple hair dancing around his face. His eyes seemed to glitter like amethysts in the dark, filled with a mischievous sparkle.

"I am the Phantom Thief Dark."

---

Sakura gasped. Impossible! Was it?

"So…that was _you _that I saw at the museum?" she whispered disbelievingly. He smirked in reply.

"Wait…what happened to Tomoyo-chan?.! What did you do to her?" she half-yelled, looking around frantically for her best friend. "TOMOYO-CH--mph!" she found herself reacquainted with the gloved hand as Dark hastily moved closer to silence her.

"Quiet! You wouldn't want anyone to hear us now would you?"

She didn't know how to reply, instead just focusing on looking for her friend.

"Why are you here anyway? Fans normally wait for me outside." He winked at her. "That is, most of them do."

He freed her mouth to let her speak, but did not let her out of his grasp. She frowned at him.

"We…we were told by Hiwatari-kun to come and try to stop you, so that means I shouldn't be standing around talking to you…"

"Ah, I see…he's trying this trick again isn't he?" Dark smirked, shaking his head. "But don't you think it's more, ah, _fun _talking rather than trying to stop me? I certainly don't mind…"

Sakura blushed furiously. "N-n-no! Let me go! What happened to Tomoyo-chan?.!"

Dark sighed, obeying her and letting go. "All I did was make her go to sleep…it's not like I hurt her or anything. Just gave her a little bit of rest."

"But…where is she?.!"

"She's up on the roof…that seemed to be the best place for her to rest so there." He replied loftily, already beginning to break the code on the Tear. Sakura didn't notice.

"How? You couldn't have got her up that quickly."

Dark smirked, holding the Tear in his hand. "Don't be too surprised, Miss Sakura. There are many things in this world that would probably startle you if you were to know."

Sakura gaped. "Are…are you talking about magic? And how do you know my name?"

Dark only grinned mysteriously as he strolled towards the exit of the gallery. "I've been around for a long time, and I know many things. And yes, I am talking about magic. However did you guess?" he gave a little shrug, standing directly under the light shining above the hallway. Only then did Sakura notice what he had been doing during their conversation. "No need to answer, Miss Sakura. It's been a pleasure meeting you. I might see you again soon." He winked, then disappeared down the corridor.

It took a few seconds for Sakura to realise that he had left. Another few seconds to realise that she hadn't stopped him. And 2 seconds to wonder how on earth he had done everything so quickly and quietly. Or maybe that was just because she wasn't paying attention. And it took just one second to realise that she should be chasing after him.

She ran down the corridor, Hiwatari's words ringing in her head. _Whatever you do, do not let him get to the roof._ She continued to wonder why as she caught sight of the end of a flowing black cape disappearing around the corner.

Glancing to her left, Sakura noticed a doorway she had remembered seeing earlier that morning. From what she could remember, it led directly to the…

Minutes later, she burst off a door on the roof, looking around for any sign of the Thief. She sighed in relief. It seemed that he hadn't reached the roof yet. Sakura looked around and caught sight of her long haired friend, immediately running over to her.

"Tomoyo-chan!" she cried, kneeling down beside her. She checked her pulse; she was alright. It seemed Dark had been true to his word, and the only thing she could do now was probably to wait.

"Well, well, well…when I said soon, I meant in a few days time, not a few minutes." A teasing voice came from behind her, and she turned to see Dark slipping out of the shadows. "There's certainly more to you than it seems, not that many people would notice it, hm?"

Sakura blushed, hoping he didn't somehow know about the Cards. "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about."

He laughed. "Of course not…" he stopped to scan the night sky, looking for any sign of disturbances. "But it seems that my job has been done, and its time for me to leave now. Do tell Hiwatari that old tricks really don't work on me." He smirked. "Goodbye, Miss Sakura."

"W-Wait!" Sakura shouted, running after him. She jumped forward and caught onto his arm. He looked back at her, surprised.

"Why are you taking the art?.! Why are you taking away something so valuable and precious, the person who created it will probably be really sad! Please, don't take it away, you don't have to steal it. Don't steal it because you're going to make someone really upset!" she pleaded with him, emerald eyes looking into his amethyst ones earnestly.

Dark looked at her, wide-eyed, before smirking almost sadly. "Sorry to ruin your impression of this person, Sakura, but these artworks are dangerous. They were made by dangerous people, and it could put many lives at risk if they are not taken care of. Do you understand?" he looked her straight in the eyes, and he could see that she was shocked.

"B-but…how can art be dangerous?"

"Because…art is alive."

"Huh?"

Without warning, Dark slipped out of her grip and ran to the edge of the roof, climbing on the ledge. Sakura wasn't shocked anymore, she was just frightened.

"W-wait! What are you doing?.! The ground is too far from here, a-a-and if you jump you might hurt yourself!"

Dark smirked at her ignorance. "Don't worry, I'm not going to jump…why should I, when I have much better methods?"

"What…what do you mean?"

He didn't answer, instead he leapt face first off the roof, plummeting down through the air. Sakura ran towards the edge of the roof, looking down at him. She couldn't help it, she screamed. A loud, piercing, frightened scream.

She was about to call on her Cards when she noticed that he was no longer falling. In fact, he wasn't even going down anymore, but up. And, she noticed with a gasp, that there was a pair of large black wings sprouting from Dark's back, filling the air with feathers.

Within seconds, he had disappeared into the night.

Sakura stood there watching in disbelief for a minute or two, before remembering Tomoyo and running to her aide. She was just beginning to stir. As she helped Tomoyo sit up, a thought occurred to her.

Black Wings…the same as the one in her dream.

---

Syaoran watched from the tree, gasping. That…that person…he was no ordinary thief. Definitely not. He could sense the magic practically dripping off him, and it was no doubt that he was very powerful. And his wings…

Without a second thought, he jumped down from the tree and ran after the direction the Thief had gone in. He silently hoped that Sakura and Tomoyo would be ok getting back home alone, but now, he had a Thief to get some answers from…

---

Ah…how was it? I know, I know, Satoshi's 'plan' was very stupid and inefficient, but then again, that was all I could think of. And Satoshi himself didn't really make an appearance in stopping Dark…let's just say that he was preoccupied with a few matters (coughkradcough). So yes, that's my 'brilliant' description of the theft, which really sucked. I'm bad at writing Dark's thefts…but please R&R!


	5. Magician Situation

**Of Light and Dark**

Keep reading…

**Chapter 5: Magician Situation**

Black wings soared through the night sky, the black angel blending easily into the dark air. He smirked.

"Wasn't that just a little too easy Dai-chan?"

-I don't know, and I don't care! Just go home already!- Daisuke grumbled, obviously disliking the 'jobs' he was forced to do.

Dark rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright…" he began his descent towards the temporary Niwa household. Suddenly, he halted sharply and turned his head around, scanning the area cautiously. Without a word, he began lifting up into the air again.

Inside him, Daisuke was already panicking. -Dark what do you think you're doing?.! Get home already!-

"I'm only trying to shake off our current hunter…sheesh you're so suspicious."

-Wait…you mean Krad's after us?.! DARK-WHAT-DO-YOU-THINK-YOU'RE-DOING-GET-OUT-OF-THERE!-

Dark winced; why did Daisuke's voice have to be so echoic?

"No Dai-chan, Krad's not the hunter this time. Just some ordinary too-curious-for-his-own-good kid who's following us." He muttered, swooping through the air.

-Oh…- Daisuke visibly relaxed, settling back down on his astral haunches. -That's alright then.-

"Yup…" Dark agreed absently, thinking about looping around the town and then going back home; that should lose whoever it was that was following them.

He shivered slightly, pushing his hair back from his face. Was it just him or did suddenly get very windy around here…?

-Oh my gosh, DARK LOOK OUT!-

"The hell-?.!" Dark found himself being tossed around by the suddenly ferocious wind that had appeared out of nowhere, and he got the sickening feeling that With wasn't going to survive very longer…

"Kyu!"

Suddenly, his wings vanished and the little white bunny was falling with him.

"With!" It was no use, the poor creature was knocked unconscious, and he had fallen too far away to grab. Dark gritted his teeth and reached out to grab a branch on one of the passing trees.

"Aha!" he grinned, hanging onto a thick branch. His smile faded as he realised the wind had somehow followed him into the forest.

CR-R-R-RACK!

"Damnit!"

---

Syaoran hastily returned the sword back into its pendant form and hurried towards the direction where the mysterious Thief had fallen. He stopped at the edge of the forest uneasily.

He didn't really want to go there alone at night…

"Kyu…"

"What…?" Syaoran looked at his feet.

Lying quite close to him was a small bundle of white, dishevelled fur. He bent down eyeing it suspiciously.

"What the heck are you?" he asked, but received nothing but a pained moan in reply.

Syaoran sighed. "Alright I get the point; I'll get you fixed up after I find that Dark person."

"Kyu!"

Was it just him or did that bunny…thing…sound happier after he mentioned Dark? Nah, must be him.

Syaoran reached out and scooped the bunny-creature-thing into his hands. He froze. He _swore _he just felt a surge of power from the bunny…but that was impossible. Wasn't it?

Dismissing it, he placed the rabbit on his shoulder and stood up. Carefully, he picked his way through the bushes and huge, ghostly trees towards the centre of the forest. Only after a good 3 minutes of some wandering around did he decide that he wasn't going to get anywhere.

"Jeez, never thought I'd need it again…" he muttered, pulling out his Lasin board.

It immediately emitted a bright blue glow that meant there was something or someone very strong nearby. Syaoran sighed in frustration.

"Yeah, that's a lot of help…"

"Kyu!" The bunny cried out happily, leaping off his shoulder and darting in to the bushes. He ran after it, startled.

"Wait! Hang on, I thought it was hurt!"

"Kyuu!"

He eventually found the bunny sitting rather sorrowfully next to a big clump of bush, whimpering pathetically. Syaoran grumbled.

"Great, now I'm probably lost, after following you." He reached down to grab the bunny but it shook its head and inched closer to the bushes, kyu-ing quietly. He frowned; what the, did the bunny understand what he was saying or something?

Suddenly, the clump of bushes moved. Syaoran leapt back, startled, ready to pull out his sword pendant. But the bushes soon parted to reveal a young redhead standing up unsteadily, clutching his head.

"Ow…"

Syaoran blinked, letting go of his pendant. "Uh…you ok?"

"Eh?" The boy looked up at him cluelessly. "Oh, um, yeah I'm fine."

"Right, you don't really look fine. What happened and what are you doing here anyway?"

"Honestly I'm fine!" he insisted, as With jumped up happily onto his shoulder. "I, uh, tripped here before when I was…" he seemed to be thinking. "Oh! I was looking for With, and I tripped over a tree root, that's why." He laughed nervously, looking quite ready to bolt.

"…" Syaoran couldn't help but to note how bad he was at telling lies.

"Ahahahahahaha…um, I better be going now…" he started inching away, trying not to look too suspicious.

"By any chance are you Niwa Daisuke?" Syaoran asked, stopping him from leaving.

Daisuke looked surprised. "Yes, that's me. How-?"

"Sakura told me."

"Oh…"

"By the way, my name is Li Syaoran."

Daisuke bowed formally. "Nice to meet you Li-kun. Even…if this is a strange place and time to meet someone new…" he laughed good-naturally.

"I better be going now. Mum will be wondering why I'm so late. Bye Li-kun!" he waved, turning to leave the forest, With wagging his tail happily on his shoulder.

But not before Syaoran caught a glimpse of something swinging from his hip. Looped in the same fashion as a belt was a small object hanging by a thin chain, only partially in view as if the shirt was overlapping to hide it. He couldn't quite see it, but it looked suspiciously familiar…

Syaoran frowned; there was definitely something about this boy. At that point, he made up his mind.

He was going to follow him to find out more information.

---

"Mum, I'm home!" Daisuke called out, opening the door of the grand mansion. Immediately he was smothered into a hug by his hyperactive mother.

"Dai-chan! Mummy's so glad you're home safe and sound!" she squealed, and Daisuke pulled away from her forcefully.

"Mum…why on earth do I have jobs here? Can't I get a holiday off or something?" he complained, yet pulled the Tear from the chain around his hip and handed it over all the same. Emiko shook her head teasingly.

"Of course you get holidays Dai-chan! You don't go out _every _night! Plus, there's lots of interesting Hikari works here in Tomoeda." She winked. "And Kosuke-san, dad and Towa-chan are studying the house itself. It's quite obvious that a powerful magician once lived here."

"But still…" Daisuke muttered grumpily, but let the matter drop as he dragged his feet along the hallway to his own room.

"Wait, Dai-chan!" Emiko called, beckoning him over to her. Daisuke sighed and obliged.

"What is it mum?"

"What took you so long to get back honey? Did something happen? And why do you look like you're hurt? Did the White Wings come out again?" Emiko bombarded him with a barrage of questions, making it slightly hard for him to concentrate.

"No mum, nothing happened. We were trying to lose someone who was following us, according to him, but then this big wind came up and made it really hard to fly properly. So With couldn't take it anymore and collapsed and we landed in the forest." Daisuke recalled, continuing his way back towards his room, leaving his mum to ponder over what had happened.

"What a strange wind though…" Daisuke mused, stepping out onto the second floor.

"Madam! Kosuke-san--oof!" Towa cried out in surprise, running around the corner only to crash into Daisuke. He was knocked back by the impact, falling back down the stairs again.

"Whoa!" He grabbed the railing with one hand, and supported himself on the steps with the other hand. Towa, meanwhile, was frantic.

"I'm sorry Niwa Daisuke-kun! I didn't see you coming! I'm very, very, very, very sorry!" she bowed repeatedly, seemingly flustered by this little accident. Daisuke smiled wearily.

"It's nothing Towa-chan. Don't worry too much about it."

"What happened, Towa-chan, Dai-chan?" Emiko asked concernedly, looking up at the two. Daisuke smiled weakly.

"Towa-chan just bumped into me, that's all."

Emiko frowned. "Normally, Toto-chan can sense if there's someone around the corner though…"

"I'm sorry madam! But lately it's been very hard to control my powers; everything's just gone out of whack!"

"Hm…" Emiko pondered sceptically. "Perhaps the lingering magic in this house is affecting you…With does also seem a little out of it…" as if on cue, the small bunny yawned lazily on Daisuke's shoulder.

POOF!

Towa flapped her wings weakly, landing on Daisuke's head. She lifted her feathery head sleepily. "Sorry madam, I'm just so tired…" With that, she fell asleep.

"Towa-chan?" Emiko frowned worriedly. "I think the magic in this house must be messing with her powers…we should let her get some rest."

Daisuke nodded, and took her to his room where he set up a little makeshift bed for her and With. Those poor creatures…

Daisuke smiled at the two animals sleeping peacefully. No one could ever guess that those two were actually magical beings with incredible abilities. He pulled a small blanket over them to cover them before standing up.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a slight rustling in the tree outside but he paid it no attention. Instead, he opened his drawer and pulled out a small item.

It was a snow globe, one of the ones that you shake up and watch the snow fall gently inside. It was a present from Riku, and inside the globe was a picture of white winged angel, reaching up to gather the snow in her hand.

Daisuke sighed longingly. He missed Riku so much…he shook the globe a bit, and watched as the powdery flakes fluttered around inside the glass, a few of it settling into the angel's outstretched hands.

Carefully, he put the globe away before sitting down by the window and gazing outside into the night. It really was annoying how his 'jobs' had to interfere with his holidays and his time with Riku…

--You thinking something wrong Daisuke?.!--

Daisuke bolted up in shock. "Wha-?.! Of course not I-" he stopped abruptly as the tree outside seemed to shake sharply, and there was definitely no wind today, not counting that abnormal one which had struck him and Dark. Quickly, he thrust the window open and looked outside.

"Who's there?" he called, but he received nothing but silence. Sighing, and also berating himself for thinking that there would actually be someone out there, he closed the window.

--Wait.--

Dark's voice stopped him. "Huh? What is it?"

--There's someone there. I can tell. Go have a look.-- Dark seemed so serious, that Daisuke decided to comply. He stood up to walk downstairs but he was once again stopped by his alter-ego.

--Don't go out by the stairs it'll take too long. They might have already disappeared by then.--

"But how am I supposed to get out?" Daisuke protested. Dark's answer was blunt.

And blatantly obvious too.

--The tree.--

"…"

Hesitatingly, he pushed the window open again and climbed out onto the ledge. He reached out an arm to try and grasp the nearest tree branch, but it was still too far.

Daisuke sighed, irritated. Pressing back against the window, he bent his knees to give himself more momentum. He pushed off, flinging through the air, and caught onto the tree branch. Quickly, he clambered upright and looked around.

The night was silent, except for the occasional chirping of an insect and a distant hoot from an owl. Then…he heard it.

Someone running across the pavement, their footsteps easy to hear in the night. Swiftly, Daisuke jumped off the tree and landed onto the ground, crouching. He took off after the direction that he heard the sound, but they were already gone.

Daisuke frowned. "Who…was it?"

Something glinting sharply on the ground caught his eye. He bent down and picked it up, examining it.

"…"

--…--

It was a small circle of wood with the sign of the Yin and Yang painted on it. It was the white paint that had caught his eye, but there was something strange about the object. He couldn't quite put his finger on it though…

Shrugging, he slipped it into his pocket and headed inside. He should show his mum…but no doubt she'd make a huge fuss over it and refuse to let him take it back. Who knew, it might belong to someone who was frantically looking for it right now.

Behind him, unbeknownst to the redhead, a tall figure muttered heavily under his breath. Syaoran stood with his back flat against the tree trunk, waiting for the redhead to leave. Finally, when he heard the reassuring sound of the window being slid shut again, he breathed out in relief and stepped out from his hiding place.

"How the hell did he get here so fast?.!" Syaoran grumbled, looking suspiciously up the window. "I've never seen anyone who could get down that tree so quickly…and he took my Lasin board! How am I supposed to get it back…"

Casting one more look at the lit room, Syaoran pulled the leaves out of his hair and turned, heading towards Sakura's house. She would probably be looking for him now…

---

"I think you're right Cerberus. There's definitely something about this Niwa Daisuke." Syaoran told the Guardian seriously. Kero floated in mid air, sitting in his thinking position.

"How so?"

---

"Daisuke-kun…I can't feel any power from him though." Sakura mumbled worriedly, after hearing Syaoran's recount. Kero gave her a disbelieving look.

"You can't? Kiddo, the magic is coming off in _waves _around him. You gotta start getting better at sensing magic; otherwise you'll be incredibly vulnerable. Like with Clow's reincarnation…or Mizuki Kaho."

"But…" Sakura protested.

"You couldn't sense Mizuki-sensei's power either, just that it made you go all strange and floaty."

"Come to think of it…" Sakura began, thinking. "When I'm around Daisuke-kun…I feel sort of happy too. Like when I'm around Yukito-san and Mizuki-sensei because-"

"Because you're reacting to the strong magic from them." Syaoran finished for her, and she nodded slowly.

"So Daisuke-kun must be…"

"He's not the only one." Everyone looked at the amber-eyed boy. "Clow Reed's house is definitely being occupied by magicians. Or just people who wield magic."

"This is a serious matter." Kero frowned. "They might be dangerous people, or people who mean no harm at all. But we can't take the risk. Sakura," he addressed the young Mistress of the Clow. "Yue and I think you should start taking the Cards with you again."

Sakura brightened at the thought of using her Cards again. "Are we going to do anything to try find out about them? Or are we just going to wait and see what happens?"

"Well…I think we should just wait and see if they're planning anything before we do anything. But it might not be safe; we don't know if they know about you yet Sakura." Kero frowned, trying to think.

"I think…" Tomoyo spoke up for the first time, and everyone looked at her. "You should be at Phantom Thief Dark's next theft, with your Cards."

Sakura frowned. "But Tomoyo-chan, how's that going to help us find out about Daisuke-kun?"

Tomoyo smiled mysteriously, something which was beginning to become a common sight. "You'll see.(1)"

---

Sakura bid her friends goodbye from the doorway of her house. Her emerald eyes were filled with worry, and she was extremely confused. This was all beginning to get very stressful, and she was sure she was going to get migraine soon.

"I think I'm going to go to bed…" Sakura mumbled, making her way up to her room slowly. Suddenly, just as she passed by it, the phone rang.

Sakura looked at the phone strangely, wondering who would be calling at this time of night. She picked it up, speaking cheerfully into the mouth piece.

"Hello, Kinomoto residence!"

Sakura kept smiling cheerfully, as if smiling would make the caller more comfortable and at ease. But the smile gradually faded away, into something akin to shock.

"Eriol-kun…"

---

Cliffy…sorry for taking so long. Homework is really getting to me…um, please R&R?

1 - Tomoyo was always the observant one…if this ain't a big hint, then nothing is.


	6. Walk in the Morning

**Of Light and Dark**

Um…official writer's block? Sorry for long update…

**Chapter 6: Walk in the Morning**

"Sakura-san, it's been a long time." A young male from all the way in England replied. He smiled amiably, ignoring the other 3 occupants of his house, two of which were arguing rather loudly.

"To my knowledge, a few…events have been occurring in Tomoeda." Eriol said this all calmly, almost cheerfully. "I wish to tell you that you may be seeing us soon."

"_Eriol-kun, that's wonderful! When will you be here?"_

"In a few days time Sakura-san."

"_We'll all be so happy to see you again! Oh! Did you know? Syaoran-kun is back in Tomoeda too! Wait, I guess you already knew that since you're so powerful and all that…"_

"Don't forget Sakura-san, you're probably the most powerful magician in the whole world, since I split my powers between Fujitaka and myself. Although it is possible that there are others around the world that may possess this power as well, you are definitely a force that is yet to be matched."

Sakura beamed happily, blushing a bit. "_Oh, but Eriol-kun, where are you going to stay? Some new neighbours have rented your house for the rest of the holidays, so you can't go back there."_

Hearing this, Nakuru appeared next to Eriol, pouting slightly. "Aw, where are we gonna stay now?"

"Did you know about this Master Eriol?" Suppi asked, floating towards them as well.

Eriol said nothing but smiled and inclined his head. He spoke into the phone to Sakura. "Don't worry Sakura-san. We'll be fine."

Soon, he hung up and left the room. He wandered out to the balcony, watching the stars in the sky that were the symbol of Sakura's own power.

Eriol smiled to himself. Even without his powers, he knew that Sakura would be alright.

---

_**Next morning**_

"Hey kiddo! Wake up, its morning!" Kero half-yelled, zooming about the room as if on steroids. A groan was heard from the bed, stopping him mid-loop. He floated over concernedly to the lump in the bed, looking down at the young girl.

"Hey Sakura. You ok down there?" He was clearly worried, as the young Mistress was normally so vibrant and cheerful. And he normally only had to yell a few times before she got up.

"Ngh…hang on, I'm getting up…" Sakura mumbled, sitting up slowly in bed and staring dazedly ahead. Her face looked flushed, and she seemed badly out of it.

"Sakura? You ok? Oi, Sakura!" Kero floated around her, waving his hands in front of her face. He felt her forehead, frowning.

"You're not burning up or anything…do you feel sick?"

Sakura shook her head. "No…I'm just a little tired and dizzy…and I've got a bit of a headache…but don't worry about me!" she attempted to beam happily, which only half worked. "I'll be fine…"

Kero shook his head, stopping her from getting up. "You're not going anywhere. I'm going to right down and get your brother to come up and have a look at you."

Without giving her any chance to protest, he flew out the door and downstairs. Sakura pouted a bit.

"But onii-chan needs to get to work soon…and I still have to make breakfast for him..." she muttered, attempting to get out of bed. Her dad had already headed off to work, but that wasn't an excuse for her to stay in bed all day!

"Oh no you don't young lady." Suddenly, Touya was there and pushing her back into bed gently. "What were you doing last night to make you get sick?"

"I'm not sick!" Sakura protested weakly. "I'm just a bit tired! Just let me get up and I'll be fine."

Touya sighed in frustration, and gave a sidelong glance towards Kero. "Well I gotta go to work soon, so you look after her stuffed toy."

Kero bristled. "I am NOT a stuffed toy! Learn how to speak properly to your elders! My name is Cerberus, the Creature of the Seal!"

"Whatever…" Touya rolled his eyes. "Just make sure she doesn't try to get out of bed or anything like that. I'll get you something to eat and drink." He disappeared out the door with Kero glaring after him.

Kero stopped once he was out of sight, turning his gaze back to Sakura. "This is quite strange for you to get sick so suddenly Sakura. You haven't been sick for a long time, and it's not like you were doing anything in particular last night, besides being out at that museum."

"I'm not sick Kero. Look! I don't have a fever or a cough and I don't feel hot or cold. I'm just really tired…"

Kero crossed his arms, thinking. "You don't feel like collapsing anytime soon do you? ...hey, Sakura!"

The girl was already sleeping quietly, obviously too tired to stay up any longer. Kero smiled softly before setting down on the table and attempting to think things through a bit more.

"Hm…this is a lot like the time that Clow's incarnation was putting all those challenges to Sakura…the magical strain was really getting to her that time. But, she hasn't used the Cards for a long time now, and she's so powerful now anyway, so it can't be overuse of magic…"

He barely noticed as Touya came up with the food, and told him to look after Sakura before leaving for work. He continued to sit there, trying to work out that little thought that was niggling at the edges of his brain.

"Maybe…maybe it's because of all the magic gathering in Tomoeda…" Kero started slowly. "All this power must be really affecting her…it's the same as when she uses too much magic, she's reacting to the large amount of power here. But…" He looked over worriedly at Sakura.

"If it's strong enough to affect probably the strongest magician in the world…Sakura could be in for some real trouble."

---

Daisuke woke up with a start. He sat there for a moment, wondering what it could have been that caused him to wake so suddenly. He thought about it, checking off the possibilities in his head.

Hm, it was all quiet downstairs…so his parents couldn't be awake yet. Speaking of which, what time was it?

Daisuke glanced at the time, discerning that it was too early for anyone to be awake yet, than looked down at the two artwork/bunny-dog hybrid that were sleeping by his bed. Nope, they were both asleep and unable to disturb him in any way at all.

He then listened for the usual voice in his head, trying to decide if it was the Kaitou who had woken him up with some random spurge of hyperactive shouting.

…No. Dark was asleep, and he knew it was genuine because Dark's breathing was quiet and even. And even though he was a professional thief who was hardly ever caught, he could not breathe quietly for his life. He could mask his breathing, but that was it.

So…if it wasn't Dark, his family, Towa or With, than what was it that woke him up?

--Dun, dun, DUN! Cue dramatic music as Inspector Daisuke attempts to solve this incredibly complex case that has everyone all over Tomoeda _and _Azumano puzzling over! _Who _was it that _woke _Niwa Daisuke? Tune in to find out!--

Daisuke glared at the Thief who had appeared next to him, even though he wasn't exactly in his own body (think…ghost sorta thing).

"Dark, that's not funny."

Dark grinned. --Oh yes it is. It's very funny indeed.--

"…"

Dark shrugged his shoulders, seeing that he wasn't going to get any teasing out of this boy at this time of morning (6:00 in the morning, freaking _6:00 in the morning!)_. Poking his tongue out at Daisuke one more time, he disappeared and, presumably, went back to sleep.

Daisuke glanced around the room one more time, thinking that he might as well get back to sleep.

It was then that he noticed a strange blue light glowing from the drawer beside his bed. Carefully, and curiously, he stepped out of bed and slowly grasped the handle of the drawer. He slid it open, peering cautiously inside.

It was the small circle of wood he had found last night. The Yin Yang symbol was almost indecipherable under the bright blue light being emitted from it. Gingerly, Daisuke picked it up, feeling its weight in his hand.

It didn't seem like there was anything different about it, beside the fact that it was glowing rather…weirdly. He flipped it into the air a couple of times, catching it again deftly afterwards. He soon became aware of the fact that Dark was once again awake (if he had ever fallen asleep again in the first place…).

--Hey, is that the thing from last night?--

"Yeah. It must have been the thing that woke me up since," Flip. "The light." Catch. "Is so bright that." Flick. "It's practically impossible." Snatch. "To miss."

--…stop flipping that freaking thing. It's getting on my nerves.--

Flip. "Ok." Catch.

--Now that we've got that sorted out…what the heck is that thing?--

"I don't know. But the light is really getting eerie. I wonder who it belongs to."

--And I wonder how they managed to put up with such an annoying thing…-- Dark muttered darkly, but Daisuke ignored him.

"Maybe I can put up a lost and found poster for it…"

--…no, Daisuke. No.--

The redhead shrugged, placing the object onto the bedside drawer. Deciding that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep after having been so active already (not to mention that the thing was still glowing), he changed out of his pyjamas to downstairs for an early morning walk.

As he was about to leave, he hesitated, glancing back at his drawer. After a second of thought, he decided to take it with him. He didn't know how his mother would react if she saw some freaky blue light coming from her son's room. In a negative, panicky sort of way probably.

---

"Ah…it feels so good…" Daisuke closed his eyes, breathing in the fresh, crisp scent of the morning air. A tad bit early, perhaps, but hey, it _was _morning.

--You know…that blue light is really bugging me…and so is wood thing itself. It must be some sort of magical artefact.--

"You think _everything's _a magical artefact Dark…" Daisuke sighed good naturedly. "I reckon you have paranoia about those things."

--I DO not. Why would I be scared of the things that I steal?.!-- Dark sniffed, as if offended by Daisuke's train of thought.

Daisuke laughed to himself. "Just cause you're a very strange artwork that steals other ones Dark."

He could see Dark pout inside of him, but decided to ignore him and instead enjoy the morning.

Daisuke reached Penguin Park and smiled, remembering the last time he was here, lost and confused. He sat down on the swings, watching the early morning animals romping around the surrounding trees.

Time flew, and the next time Daisuke checked his watch, it was already 8am. He blinked; he didn't know that two hours could go by so fast. Standing up, and brushing off the few leaves that had fallen on him, he started to head home.

He was halfway there when he noticed a small figure up ahead, sitting down on the sidewalk. Another person was with her, and he soon distinguished it to be Syaoran and Sakura, who he had only just recently met.

Daisuke jogged to catch up with them, calling out a greeting.

"Sakura-san, Li-kun!"

Sakura looked up at him, smiling cheerfully, although he could tell from her tired green eyes that she was in no way perky this morning.

"Daisuke-kun! What are you doing out here?"

Syaoran nodded a greeting to him, but the redhead could see that the amber eyed boy was concerned for Sakura.

"Just on a walk. Are you ok Sakura-san? You looked like you just collapsed."

"Ehehe…well I'm feeling really tired today, and I _do _have a bit of a headache, though I don't know why…but I didn't want to stay in bed all day so I snuck out for a walk," Sakura told him sheepishly. "And I ran into Syaoran-kun on my way back."

"Sakura, if you're sick, you shouldn't be out." Syaoran sighed. "I'm taking you back right now."

Sakura pouted cutely. "Syaoran-kun, I'm not sick! Why does everyone think that? I don't have a fever or a cough of anything, I'm just really tired!"

"Either way, you should be in bed. Come on." Syaoran tugged at her arm gently, and she stood up unsteadily. She smiled at Daisuke as if to say goodbye.

"Bye Daisuke-kun! Maybe see you tomorrow, when I'm better again!" She laughed, and then pointed at his pocket. "By the way, what's that glowing thing? It looks like you have a light bulb in there or something."

"This?" Daisuke reached into his pocket and pulled out the - still - glowing wooden block. Its light was faint against the morning sky, making it barely distinguishable. "I don't know. I found it last night, and it was glowing this morning."

He didn't notice it, but Syaoran's eyes widened in recognition. Hastily, the brown haired boy took it from him. "Oh that's mine! I must have dropped sometime last night. Thanks for finding it!" He shoved it into his pocket, but not before Daisuke noticed it stop emitting that bright blue light.

"Li-kun…what's with the light? It was glowing non-stop this morning, and it was very unnerving."

"It's just this thing that's built into it. It turns on sometimes by random. Sorry if it bothered you." Syaoran lied quickly.

"Maybe you should get it fixed Syaoran-kun! You might wake someone in the apartment block!" Sakura joked, laughing, and the others soon joined in with her.

"Eh?" Daisuke froze. He turned around in a circle slowly, looking around to see where that strange feeling came from. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Sakura's and Syaoran's hands fly up to their necks, apparently clutching something for reasons that he did not know. Instantly, Dark was alert.

--That…feeling…--

"What…was that?" Daisuke blinked. Syaoran and Sakura exchanged worried looks.

"Come on." Syaoran muttered to Sakura. "We got to lead whatever it is away from here." Sakura nodded.

--A...a live artwork!--

A strong wind picked up, sending a chilly storm of cherry blossom petals rushing down on them. Daisuke covered his eyes to shield himself from the sudden flower storm, wondering where the wind came from.

His eyes widened.

-Dark--!-

--Daisuke!--

---

"Saaakura!" Kero sang, flying up the stairs with a cup of warm milk with honey his hands. "I've got something for you to drink!"

He burst into the room cheerfully, somehow managing to not spill a single drop of the beverage in his hands. "Cheer up, cause I know you loooooove drinking milk with honey!...eh? Sakura?"

The bed was empty, and the girl was nowhere in sight. Kero sighed in mock frustration, setting the cup down carefully on the table. "Shoulda known she would have gone out like this…"

He looked over to the opened Clow book on the table, and saw it was empty. "Hm, she took the Cards with her too…"

Kero took a small sip of the drink, closing his eyes and sighing in satisfaction after he had done so. He couldn't blame the kid for enjoying it so much.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes. He looked around sharply. "Is…that a magical presence I feel?"

He concentrated hard for a moment, but after detecting nothing, he shrugged. "Must be my imagination…"

He took another sip of the drink, before deciding to go downstairs and make his own one. And while he was at it, he reckoned that he would help himself to a small snack…perhaps some of that delicious pudding from last night…or perhaps the cookies that Sakura made the other day. He might as well finish off the other half of the cake that Tomoyo had bought him the other day too…

---

Um…cliffy anyone? xD Sorry, but I didn't want to put the next bit in as well and pretty much rush the whole thing. Oh, and just so you know, the artefact that they're encountering at the moment is _not _going to suck it into it's world or anything like that. That's too typical, too major and is something I'm going to try stay away from.

The major things with the artworks going bizarre will happen later…probably when Eriol comes (Yay!) and when everyone is _properly introduced to everyone else. _And probably after Daisuke runs into Satoshi too. :D This current magical thing is just a little thing to start arousing suspicious within the group…oops, said too much! Please R&R!


	7. Awakening

**Of Light and Dark**

Yay, holidays! I'm so happy! xD Thanks to everyone who reviewed my past chapters. Here's the next one!

**Chapter 7: Awakening**

"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura yelled out, trying to see past the enormous amount of cherry blossom petals blowing around them. She shivered, looking around again. Suddenly, she felt a body move close to hers and she turned her head, smiling when she saw who it was. He nodded at her.

"Come on!" he shouted above the wind. "I can't see Niwa anywhere, so let's deal with this thing now! Have you got the Cards?"

She nodded, and, as he transformed his pendant into his sword, she brought her Key out. Holding it out in front of her, she started to chant the release spell as it began glowing.

"_Key that hides the power of darkness,_

_Show to me your true form,_

_By the covenant I, Sakura, command you._

**_RELEASE!_**"

There was a bright flash of light, and a great deal of fluttering white feathers, before Sakura saw her fully transformed staff for the first time in four years. She reached out and grabbed it with her hand firmly, looking over it in awe as if it was the first time she had laid eyes on it.

"Sakura!" Syaoran's voice brought her back to reality, and she drew out a Card, tapping it with the Staff.

"_SHIELD!" _Immediately, the wind - and cherry blossoms - swept around the invisible shield that had been formed around them, and they could finally see what was going on in front of them.

Sakura and Syaoran blinked in awe. "What…what is this?"

They were no longer in the streets of Tomoeda. Instead, they seemed to be in a beautiful pinkish purple cave full of glittering stalactites and stalagmites. Instead of looking rough and harsh, the rocks in the cave looked smooth and tempting to touch. And jutting out in small clusters around the cave were groups of beautiful pink crystals, adding to the surreal look that the cave already gave off.

"Wow…" Sakura breathed, stepping forward. Her eyes were fixed on a particularly large group of crystals that were directly in front of her and, as she stepped forward, she began to see her reflection in them.

"It's…beautiful…" she whispered, taking another step towards the entrancing crystal. She didn't notice that she stepped through Shield's barrier, nor did she notice Syaoran's warning cries. All she knew was that she wanted to touch that crystal, and feel its smooth texture under her hands.

Her eyes glazed over and drooped, focusing only on that shiny object. Her arm carrying the Staff fell limp against her side, and the Staff dropped out of her hands, clattering onto the floor. As soon as she was out of Shield's protection, the barrier - and Syaoran with it - twisted and disappeared out of her sight. Sakura didn't appear to notice though, only reaching out a hand to touch that smooth…tempting…crystal…

---

"Sakura-san!" Daisuke yelled, pushing past the wind. He gritted his teeth; he couldn't see the two of them anywhere!

"Dark! What can this artwork do?.!" He yelled. Dark shook his head.

--I don't know! I haven't seen it yet so I can't be sure! Just, transform into me now!--

Daisuke nodded, and he closed his eyes to change into his other half. Amethyst eyes snapped open, and a black feather was immediately whipped out. It glowed, and the scene around them cleared. He narrowed his eyes.

"Oi, Li!" Dark yelled out, causing the boy's head to swivel around to face him. "Where's Sakura?"

"She went ahead!" Syaoran pointed a finger towards the pitch blackness in front of them. "Where are we? How did we get here?.!"

"…we're not anywhere." Was the reply he got. Syaoran blinked.

"What?"

"We haven't gone anywhere. This…" Dark motioned towards the glittering pink walls. "Is all an illusion." As the tip of his feather touched it, it shimmered and the feather went through it.

Syaoran gasped. "But then; where did Sakura go?.!"

"Follow me!" Dark called, ignoring his question. He darted ahead, Syaoran following closely with Sakura's Key and the Shield card in his hand.

"Sakura!" Syaoran shouted, seeing the Mistress of the Clow lying, unconscious, on the floor. He knelt down next to her and placed her head on his lap, shaking her gently. "Are you alright?"

"I say she collapsed on her own accord. She wasn't feeling too well before, now was she?" Dark told him, glancing at the two before looking at the sparkling rock that Sakura had been so dazzled by. He narrowed his eyes.

"Another one of these, huh?"

-Dark…is that one of the Hikari artefacts?-

"Yeah, they really do get troublesome sometimes." Dark brought out a black feather, muttering under his breath before thrusting the feather into the core of the crystal. The crystal pulsed with a strange light before the scenery around them faded, revealing the streets of Tomoeda around them again. Lying at Dark's feet was a necklace with the same piece of glass hanging off it.

Dark smirked, picking it up loosely by the chain. He glanced at the two behind him and, after registering that they were ok, left them to it.

Syaoran watched the Thief fly out of sight before turning back to look at Sakura. Her breathing was fairly normal and even, and it didn't look like she was harmed in any way. He sighed and lifted her up on his back.

Luckily for him, Touya wasn't here.

---

"What are you saying?.! That something came and attacked you? Why didn't you call me Sakura?.!" Kero yelled somewhat frantically, regardless of the fact that Sakura was still sleeping and unable to hear him.

Annoyed by the Sun guardian, Syaoran reached out a hand and grabbed the plushie's tail. Kero froze.

He turned around slowly, a death look on his face. "Why…you…little…"

"I just thought that you shouldn't be bothering Sakura when she was sleeping. And we couldn't exactly call you to let you know when we barely had anytime to react anyway."

Kero didn't seem to have heard him. "_YOU LITTLE BRAT! YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS THAT REDHEAD KID, GRABBING ME ON THE TAIL LIKE THAT! WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM, SOME SORTA SOFT TOY? WELL I'LL LET YOU KNOW THAT _I'M _CERBERUS, THE CREATURE OF THE SEAL, AND I WILL NOT BE HANDLED LIKE a PLUSH TOY. I DEMAND RESPECT FROM YOU NOW, AND THAT MEANS LETTING GO OF MY TAIL!"_

Syaoran was so shocked by the amount of - and the loudness of - words that came from Kero that he promptly let go. Kero sniffed in a pompous sort of way, rubbing his tail against his face.

"Cerberus, don't you think we have a serious matter on our hands?" Syaoran asked, rather annoyed by Kero's obliviousness to the situation. "I mean, this isn't what you would call _normal _is it?"

"Well…" Kero folded his arms, serious once more. "It does seem rather unusual…I suspect it has something to do with this art thief, right?"

"Why the heck does he steal art anyway? Not to mention announce to the media to let them all know…if he was so good, he might as well rob from the richest family on earth." Syaoran muttered to himself. Kero took no notice of him.

"…I say we should investigate a bit more on this Thief. I betcha he knows something of what's going on." Kero stated, punching his fist onto his hand (you know…the way they do it when they're like 'let's do it!'). Syaoran looked at him a bit sceptically.

"The question is _how _we're going to do it."

The winged guardian frowned. "I know, I know…I just need some food to give me thinking energy…"

Amber eyes rolled.

"I'll be right back!" Kero yelled cheerfully, more to Sakura than to Syaoran (remember? He doesn't like Syaoran much.) as he zoomed down to the kitchen to grab some of the pancakes Touya had made for Sakura before he found out that she was sick. "She's not gonna eat it anyway…"

_DING DONG! _

Kero looked up, crumbs still around his mouth. "…"

A sneaking suspicion told him he knew who it was, but he wanted to check it before he came to any conclusions. He floated up to that little window on the door to look outside at who it was.

_SMACK!_

"Ow…" Kero groaned, sinking to the floor and clutching his head. Syaoran looked down at him.

"Oops sorry. Didn't see you there." He said, not sounding sorry at all that he had just whacked Kero on the head from suddenly opening the door. He looked up at the visitors.

"What are-?"

Eriol smiled. "Is Sakura-san in?"

---

"Oh dear, they're already awakening?" Emiko asked, worry plastered on her face. Dark nodded.

"Yeah, this one just appeared before." He said, holding up the necklace. Kosuke studied it carefully.

"Have you sealed it yet?"

Dark nodded again. "Here."

Emiko sat down on the sofa opposite of Dark, sighing. "And I had hoped that we would be able to find them before they ran wild…the Hikari really do like to be troublesome."

A smirk. "That's what they do Emiko. I think that's the only thing that still runs strong in the bloodline that doesn't have anything to do with magic."

Emiko smiled at Dark's dry humour. "That's not going to be too helpful to us, now is it?"

"Heh. Oh and on another note…I do believe that I have located the source of the magic I've been feeling lately."

---

Emerald eyes opened blearily, blinking a few times to get rid of the sleepiness. Slowly, Sakura's vision focused, and she saw navy blue eyes smiling gently at her.

"Phwee? Eriol-kun!" She sat up suddenly, beaming at their latest guest. Eriol continued to smile.

"Hello Sakura-san."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh! She's still soooooooooo cute!" A high pitched shriek was heard before a pair of arms flung them around her very suddenly. Sakura gasped for air.

"N-N-Nakuru-san!"

-

Sakura looked around the room slowly, taking in the large number of guests they now had. Syaoran, Tomoyo and Kero were here (of course), as well as Eriol, Nakuru and Suppi. But…

"Did Mizuki-sensei come with you?" Sakura asked Eriol curiously. He shook his head.

"No, she had to stay behind since she has a teaching job there that she couldn't get away from. But she sends her best wishes to all of you."

"But why did you come back to Japan, Hiiragizawa-kun?" Tomoyo asked, placing a tray of cookies on the floor for Suppi and Kero (but mainly Kero). Kero, of course, immediately attacked it, while Suppi held one in his tiny paw and nibbled it.

"Master Eriol felt that something was going to happen soon, and wanted to make sure that none of you would be harmed." Suppi replied in his quiet way, giving an obvious look of disgust at Kero's pigginess. "He, of course, could not tell what it was exactly with the loss of half his powers, so he decided to come here in person. Ruby Moon insisted that all of we came."

"I told you to call me _Nakuru_, Suppi-chan!" Nakuru poked the black cat indignantly as he bristled and snapped back.

"What Spinel said was exactly right." Eriol said, ignoring his two creations' bickering. "I can feel a bit of that power now, and I'm sure you can too, Sakura-san." After he received a nod from Sakura, he continued.

"I would like to know, however, if there have been any strange occurrences lately. And maybe you could tell me some about those who have moved into Clow's house?"

Sakura and Syaoran exchanged glances. "Strange occurrences huh?"

"Well, that won't be too hard…"

---

"A crystal?" Eriol frowned, thinking. Sakura and Syaoran had recounted what had happened that morning, and they were all currently mulling over it. "I can't think of what may be behind an attack consisting of a necklace…"

"Who's that Dark person you mentioned?" Nakuru asked. "You're not talking about the Dark card are you?"

"No." Kero shook his head. "Dark is what they call the Phantom Thief. He just started appearing, and apparently, he steals artworks."

"Speaking of which, he _did _take away the necklace thing." Syaoran spoke up. "Maybe that was one of the artworks he targeted; but how did that thing get out anyway?"

"Phantom Thief Dark…hm…"

_DING DONG!_

"Nakuru, could you please get that?" Eriol asked, and Nakuru immediately jumped up to answer it, grabbing Suppi with her on the way.

They all remained quiet as they listened to her running down the stairs - not to mention Suppi's quiet grumbles at being snatched up like that -, and the sound of the front door opening. Nakuru's cheerful hello was heard before it was silent again.

Sakura looked at Tomoyo. "Maybe we should see if something happened…?"

"_YOU'RE SO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE!" _

Everyone winced. "W-w-was that Nakuru-san?"

"I-I-I think so…" Tomoyo laughed quietly. "I wonder who it is."

"Kero-chan…you better hide somewhere. Sounds like they're coming up." Sakura whispered to Kero, who slipped behind Sakura.

Sure enough, Nakuru soon burst into the room, followed by another person. He, for his part, was looking quite flustered and red from being suddenly glomped and dragged up the stairs.

"Sakura-chan! Is this a friend of yours?" Nakuru yelled cheerfully. Daisuke looked surprised at the large amount of people that were in the room, not to mention looking quite freaked out by this hyperactive woman. Suppi, who was currently laying limp in Nakuru's arms in the pretence of a soft toy, wasn't looking too happy either.

"Daisuke-kun!"

---

A tall figure stood in the busy museum, eyeing the painting in front of him. He narrowed his eyes.

"They're awakening…"

---

T.T Sorry for taking so long. Um…do any of them seem OOC to you? Please tell me if they do, cause I'll really appreciate it. In the meantime…please R&R!


	8. Invitation

**Of Light and Dark**

-whistles- Wait…I can't whistle! Erhem…

**Chapter 8: Invitation **

"My name is Niwa Daisuke; it's a pleasure to meet you all." Daisuke smiled, bowing politely. The others that he did not know already introduced themselves one by one. With kyuu-ed happily on his shoulder, sensing no threats to his master in this room. The fur on his neck did bristle slightly though, although that was only an instinctive reaction to the large amount of power gathered in this room.

"Can I call you Dai-kun?" Nakuru asked hyperactively, bouncing up and down with poor Suppi still in her arms. "Huh? Huh? Huh?.!"

Daisuke laughed nervously. "Ahahaha…sure, Akizuki-san."

"Call me Nakuru!"

"Uh, um, ok Nakuru-san…"

Tomoyo turned to face Sakura and Syaoran. "Oh, so this is the Niwa Daisuke-kun that you two were talking about." Turning back to Daisuke, she bowed. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Niwa-kun."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Daidouji-san." Daisuke replied, wondering slightly at the mention of Sakura and Syaoran talking about him. "I hope I'm not intruding or anything…I just wanted to apologize to Sakura-san and Li-kun for suddenly disappearing this morning."

"It's no trouble at all!" Sakura motioned for him to sit down and take a cookie. "You're welcome to come any time you like!"

Daisuke smiled, accepting the invitation and sitting down. "Thank you Sakura-san!"

Once he was settled down, the conversation turned back to what they had been discussing before; of course, this time with no references to magic or anything of the sort.

"So, Eriol-kun, this is the Daisuke-kun that I had told you about moving into your old house!"

"Heh?"

"We didn't tell you did we?" Nakuru asked, munching cheerfully on a cookie. "The house that Sakura-chan told us you rented used to belong to Eriol. But then, we had to leave that wonderful house and its _big library_ (that was sort of a taunt to Suppi who, as we all know, enjoyed reading the books there), and we also had to say goodbye to Sakura-chan and her friends too because we had to go back to England." Nakuru sighed somewhat mournfully. "Tomoeda was such a lovely place too…"

"But Akizuki-san." Syaoran pointed out. "You're here in Tomoeda again, so why are you talking about it like it's the past?"

Nakuru thought for a moment, blinking. "…true…"

"Niwa-kun," Eriol started, addressing Daisuke. "You are from Azumano, right?"

"Hm?" Daisuke looked up. "Oh, yeah, I am. Why?"

"Well, I was wondering…could you perhaps tell us a bit about the Phantom Thief Dark? I'm a bit curious about him, seeing as I've never seen or heard of him before."

Daisuke coughed, flustered. "A-a-a-about Dark? What do you want to know?"

"Oh, I just want to know who he is exactly, and why he seems to be so famous." Eriol smiled, watching the redhead. "After all, he comes from Azumano too, doesn't he?"

Daisuke nodded slowly, aware of the whole group's attention on him. Eriol was still smiling in a way that made him look like he knew everything, and Daisuke was quickly growing uncomfortable. He only hoped that none of them picked up the link between him and Dark.

"Well…obviously, he's a thief." Daisuke paused. How could he tell them about Dark without revealing anything? "Well, in Azumano, he's a bit of a legend. It's like our very own myth, since he's so popular and well known and everything."

"What makes this thief different from every other one?" Eriol asked. "Most thieves are regarded as criminals, and they're mostly shunned by society too."

Daisuke laughed nervously. "What makes him different? Oh, a lot of things. Most girls fall straight in love with his good looks, and he _does _seem a bit of a womanizer, if you ask me. And he's also different because he has never failed in stealing anything before; wait, no, he failed once but that was it." Daisuke corrected himself, remembering the incident with the Second Hand of Time.

"One other thing is his wings. That's partly what made him into some sort of legendary figure, his wings and his thieving skills."

"Niwa-kun…" Tomoyo said. "How do you know all this stuff?"

Daisuke blushed. "Um, that is, my okaa-san's a big fan of Dark, so I hear a lot about him from her…" He rubbed the back of his head unconsciously.

"Do you know why he only steals art?" Syaoran asked, having wanted to know that for quite awhile now. "Because if you ask me, if he can steal priceless pieces of art, why doesn't he target other items of higher value?"

"It's not for the money!" Daisuke interjected sharply before he realised what he was saying. "Oh, oops, um I mean…" he blushed red. "I don't think he's doing it for the money, that's all…because what can a criminal on the run do with money?"

"Do you think Dark-san is lonely?" Sakura asked quite suddenly. Everyone looked at her rather curiously. "I mean, since he's a criminal on the run like you said, Daisuke-kun, he can't exactly be with anyone. Except for people who are his friends or those he trusts, it must be very lonely for him."

Tomoyo tilted her head in thought. "Hm, I never thought of it that way…"

"But how does he appear on and off all the time?" Syaoran asked. "I mean, does he go into hiding for a certain amount of time, then come out again? Speaking of which, he can't exactly be human then since he doesn't age. He looks only about a teenager."

Daisuke shrugged in a 'don't-ask-me' way. "That's just another one of the mysteries about Dark that probably will never be solved."

"He does sound quite interesting." Eriol mused. "I wonder if I will get a chance to see him in action while I'm here in Tomoeda again."

"You probably will, he tends to be quite active." Daisuke assured him.

"How long are you planning to stay Eriol-kun?" Sakura asked. She hoped that he would stay for quite a while at least.

"It depends, Sakura-san." Eriol told her, mysterious smile back in place. "We'll just have to see how things turn out."

"Oh!" Sakura clapped her hands together as if remembering something. "I just remembered! The annual festival at Tsukimine Shrine is just next week! Why don't we all go together?"

Everyone looked at each other. Tomoyo was first to reply. "That's a great idea, Sakura-chan! What do you all say?"

Syaoran nodded quite eagerly. He was happy for some time to spend with his beloved (xD) Sakura-chan. Nakuru began cheering and flinging Suppi up and down in the air, which meant that Eriol would be going as well. That left only Daisuke.

"Um, uh, I don't want to intrude!" He started, flustered.

"You won't be intruding! It'll be nice if you came with us Daisuke-kun!" Sakura said quite determinedly. "Oh! And it would be great if your family could come too! And, I know! We can invite Hiwatari-kun too!"

There was silence in the room. Sakura looked around, blinking in confusion. "What?"

"Sakura…" Syaoran whispered to her. "Hiiragizawa and Akizuki don't know who Hiwatari is."

"Oh…right."

"Hiwatari-kun also recently came to Tomoeda." Tomoyo informed the others. "He told us he was here because he was chasing Dark, since he's the Commander for that department."

"But…" Syaoran started. "Does anyone know where he lives?"

They were once again lapsed into temporary silence. None of them knew that particular bit of information, and it wasn't as if they had his phone number…

"I'll go ask him."

"Phwee? Daisuke-kun, do you know how to find him?"

"Ehehe…yeah, I do." Daisuke looked away, rubbing the back of his head. "Um, I think I'll be able to reach him within a few days time…"

"That's great!" Sakura was all cheery and happy again. "Then we can all go and have fun! I'll ask onii-chan and Yukito-san to come too, if they have time!"

"Ah…" Tomoyo sighed in a state of dreamy bliss. "It will be so nice to be able to film Sakura-chan and everyone else again…I haven't been able to use my video camera for a long time!"

Syaoran leaned closer to Sakura. "Daidouji-san is still into filming you?"

"Yeah, she never got out of that habit. She just had fewer opportunities." She whispered back.

Meanwhile, unnoticed by everyone else, With bounced off Daisuke's shoulder onto Sakura's desk. There, he sniffed around curiously as the humans began discussing where and when to meet for the festival. Curious red eyes noticed a strange book lying on the desk, and the bunny-like creature hopped over, emitting a soft 'kyu'.

Finally, Daisuke noticed that his pet had disappeared from his shoulder. He looked around the room, searching for the cute little furball, before noticing it on the table. "Eh? With, what are you doing?"

The redhead got up to retrieve the bunny, looking curiously at the book that With had been poking out while he did so. "The Book of Clow…?"

"Phwee?.!" Sakura got up quickly. "Ah! That's just a very old book that belongs to my dad!" When Daisuke gave her a puzzled look, she continued hastily. "You see, he's an archaeologist and a professor at the university, and he found this book and took it home and I was looking at it…"

"Really? Can I have a look at it?"

"Um, ah, that is…"

"It's a very old and fragile book." Syaoran jumped in. "The pages are really delicate, and Sakura's father told her to be extremely careful with it."

"Ok then." Daisuke said. He scolded With gently. "Be careful with that With. It's a very old and probably very important thing."

"Kyu!" With seemed to agree with him, having been around many precious artefacts his whole life.

"Well, I better be going home now before my okaa-san starts to worry." Daisuke said, heading towards the door. He waved goodbye at the group before leaving. "Thanks for having me over!"

"Bye!"

As soon as the sound of the front door closing was held, there were two very audible sighs being released. Kero crawled out from behind Sakura, looking exhausted, and Suppi flew out of Nakuru's grasp indignantly.

"That was soooooooooo long!" Kero moaned, falling ungracefully on the cookie tray. "And now you're planning to go to another festival that I, Cerberus, cannot go to? How cruel of you!"

"I'm sorry Kero-chan. But we can't really bring you to these things!" Sakura apologized.

Kero just gave her a mock look of anger before stuffing himself with cookies again.

Eriol stood up. "I think it is time that we left too. We'll see you soon."

"Goodbye Eriol-kun, Nakuru-san!"

"We'll see you at the festival Sakura-chan!"

Soon, the room seemed strangely empty, now that so many of their guests were gone. Sakura looked at Tomoyo and Syaoran.

"Do you guys have anything to wear for the festival?"

Syaoran shook his head; of course, he hadn't brought a yukata or anything of the sort from Hong Kong. Tomoyo only winked and smiled.

"Don't you worry Sakura-chan! I'll make sure to make something really nice for you and Li-kun!"

"Ah! Tomoyo-chan, you don't have to!"

"But I want to Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo replied. "Plus, I'm sure you two will look absolutely adorable together! And I'll be right there to capture it all on video!"

"T-T-Tomoyo-chan…"

Syaoran frowned, a thought suddenly occurring to him. "Wait a minute - did you ever give Niwa your address, Sakura?"

Sakura blinked, thinking back. "Actually…no, I don't think so…"

"Then how did he know this was your house?" Kero asked. He folded his arms in a serious-like manner. "And that day he showed up on your roof too."

"That is strange…"

---

Satoshi entered the apartment block in which he was currently staying in heading over to the elevators. He paused, seeing that all of them were pretty high up at the moment, and would take awhile before they reached ground floor. Sighing in frustration, he headed towards to the little used staircase, rather than wait for those annoyingly long elevators to come down, as two other people were.

His floor was the 13th one. Joy, simply joy.

Blue eyes glanced lazily at the signs on each floor that showed how many more he had left to climb. 10 left…9…8…7…6…

As he paused on the 7th floor to take a rest, he glanced down the hallway to see if there was anything of interest there. The elevator there had just slid closed from dropping off a pair of passengers. With a slight pang of annoyance, he realised that they were the same people that he had seen waiting for it on the ground floor. Stupid, cold, stupid, metal elevator…

_BEEP! BEEP!_

A beeping sound came from his pocket, interrupting his violent verbal assault on the elevator. He reached inside and dug out a mobile phone, holding it to his ear.

"Hiwatari Satoshi speaking."

---

Eriol and Nakuru stood patiently in front of the metal doors, both pairs of eyes fixated on the numbers above the doors. It would be a long wait yet, by the looks of it. Luckily, they had a lot of patience.

Well, Eriol did. Nakuru was already getting bored and fidgety.

It seemed that someone behind them didn't have the said patience, as they heard a frustrated sigh and the sound of someone heading up the stairs. Poor guy, it would take him awhile to get up all those floors.

_DING!_

"Finally!" Nakuru almost yelled, leaping into the empty elevator. Eriol followed more calmly, looking at Suppi rather pityingly. The poor cat was still stuck in Nakuru's arms.

He made sure that no one else was coming in before reaching out and pushing the number 7 on the wall. It lit up to show that it had been pressed, and the doors slid shut smoothly.

Nakuru was already complaining.

"Aw, I hate having to go into these metal things!" She emphasized her point by kicking the walls of the elevator. "They take too long, and they're so small!"

"Unless you prefer to take the stairs, Nakuru, then this is what we're going to be using."

"Hmph."

The doors slid open soon and they stepped out into the long empty hallway. Well, empty except for one person who was standing down one end of it. This certainly was an echoic corridor, Eriol noted, hearing the loud sound of his footsteps tapping.

"Hiwatari Satoshi speaking."

The navy-haired boy turned, hearing the name. If his memory served him correctly, that was the name of the other boy Sakura had mentioned moving to Tomoeda. He supposed that meant this Satoshi was living in the same apartment block as him. Well, that certainly made things easier.

Eriol watched the blue-haired teen as he spoke on the phone. He could detect a strange aura from him, one that was quite unsettling. As if the boy could tell he was looking at him, he turned, glancing at Clow's reincarnation carelessly before refocusing his attention on the phone.

"Tonight at 10? Fax me the information, and I will contact the police station tonight." Satoshi closed his eyes, almost as if he was bored with the conversation. He leant against the wall, listening only half-heartedly. "Yes…yes…goodbye."

With a small click, he hung up and replaced the phone in his pocket. Then, without even looking at Eriol, he continued up the stairs.

"Eriol, Eriol!" Nakuru screamed excitedly from within their apartment. "Can you make me another kimono for the festival like you did last time? Please, pretty please!"

Eriol wasn't listening; he had detected a slight change in the aura around the boy, and a strange feeling was resting in his stomach. Ignoring Nakuru, he pushed open the door to the staircase, following the blue-eyed teen.

Nakuru blinked. "Eriol?"

---

5 more to go…4…

A sudden burst of pain racked through his body, causing him to halt suddenly and painfully. He panted heavily, leaning one hand on the wall for support. Gradually, his breathing returned to normal, and he straightened up, letting go of the wall.

"Argh!" Unexpectedly, it returned, stronger than ever, making him clench his stomach and collapse onto the floor. He leaned against the wall in a crouching position, eyes closed and hair dishevelled. His glasses had fallen off some time or the other, and he was in no hurry to put them back on.

Satoshi rested his head in his arms, feeling exhausted from struggling to hold in the other being inside him. A low menacing chuckle came from inside him.

_.:Satoshi-sama, you really shouldn't push yourself…:._

He gritted his teeth, blocking out that voice that he loathed so much. "Leave me alone Krad!" he hissed, standing up shakily. The blonde almost-angel ignored him though.

_.:But Satoshi-sama, I haven't been able to have fun for so long now. Surely I deserve some time:._

"It definitely isn't fair that you get to have all the fun." Krad finished what he had been saying, smirking. He withdrew his wings, brushing the usual lock of hair away to the side so he could see better. Glancing carelessly at the many stairs above him, he turned and headed back down.

A dark-blue haired figure turned as he walked up the stairs, nearly colliding with the blonde. Eriol backed away, bowing politely and apologizing before looking at the blonde with curiosity.

Krad didn't spare a second glance in his direction, instead continuing his way down. Eriol watched the enigmatic person go. He narrowed his eyes. There was a dangerous aura coming from him. Dangerous, but he had to admit, familiar. He couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Long after the other man disappeared from sight, Eriol sighed, heading back to his apartment where Nakuru was waiting.

---

"Okaa-san, I'm home!" Daisuke called, entering their temporary house. Emiko popped her head in from the living room.

"Dai-chan! Mummy sent out another notice!" Daisuke gave her a look of disbelief.

"Okaa-san, you did it again! I told you not to send them without telling me!" Daisuke complained. "And two nights in a row too!"

Emiko looked at him almost apologetically. "Oh, but this one is urgent! It's a very old painting, but it hasn't got a title!"

"You say every single one is urgent!" The redhead threw his hands up in disbelief. "How am I supposed to find it if it hasn't got a name?"

Emiko winked at him. "Don't worry! All you have to do is look for the one with the highest security on it and take it home! Simple! And Dark's the one doing the work, Dai-chan."

"I know, but still…" Daisuke sighed. "What time and where?"

"It's at 10pm tonight, at the Tomoeda Art Museum again. And mummy's got a new outfit for you to wear!" Emiko squealed excitedly, strangely reminiscent of Tomoyo when she mentioned filming them at the festival. Speaking of the festival…

"Okaa-san, some friends in Tomoeda invited us to go to the festival at Tsukimine Shrine with them next week." Daisuke explained. "Two of them are Sakura-san and Li-kun, the ones I told you about."

"Next week, next week, hm…" Emiko pondered. "Well sure, that would be lovely! I'll make sure you get a cute outfit too!"

"Okaa-san!" Daisuke protested. "And they invited our whole family to come along."

"Really?" Emiko asked, interested. "That's so thoughtful of them! I'll go ask Kosuke-san, Towa-chan and otou-san now! Kosuke-san!" she called out loudly. She ran down the hallway to the library where the others undoubtedly were, leaving Daisuke alone.

"Hey, Dark?"

--Hn?--

"Can you give me some time after the theft today to go ask Hiwatari-kun about coming to the festival? I did promise the others that I would ask."

--…fine, whatever.-- Dark answered lazily.

Daisuke smiled gratefully. "Thanks Dark!" He entered the living room of the house and flicked on the TV to the news channel. "Maybe this way I'll be able to see what the painting looks like."

The same reporter from last time stood rigidly, a microphone in her hands. Daisuke lazily flopped onto the couch as he watched her announce the news.

"_Another notice has been found from the Phantom Thief Dark, sent anonymously this morning. " _A picture of the notice filled the screen. In the usual calligraphic handwriting, it announced the theft.

**Tonight at 10pm, I will take the untitled painting from the Tomoeda Art Museum.**

**-_DARK_**

"_Already, police are tightening security on the famed painting with no name. It was donated to the museum only 3 days ago, and Dark has already set his sights on it!"_

The painting was shown on the screen, and Daisuke studied it carefully. After he was certain that he would recognize it, he reached for the remote to turn the TV off.

Accidentally, he hit the wrong button and it changed channels. Daisuke blinked, deciding if there was anything interesting on this channel before he switched it off.

It was also on the news, although they weren't talking about Dark. They seemed to be talking about a bank robbery that had taken place downtown. Bored, Daisuke was about to turn it off when he noticed someone who was walking in the background. Someone who looked awfully familiar…

--What the hell is _he _doing there?.!--

---

Crummy chapter…I'm so sorry! -cries- My writing is definitely not up to standards, so I apologize to everyone for this horrible chapter, especially when a whole lot of it was basically pointless stuff! So sorry!

By the way...can anyone tell me what a beta reader is? I still haven't quite figured out what it is...


	9. Secret Discovered

**Of Light and Dark**

Thankies for everyone who reviewed my story. You don't know HOW happy I am to receive them! xD

**Chapter 9: Secret Discovered (and the other one remains hidden)**

-Hey, Dark?-

"What is it Dai-chan?"

-Do you think Hiwatari-kun is ok?- Daisuke asked. -I didn't see him in the crowd with the rest of the police, so I wonder if Krad's still in control…-

"He'll be fine. It's not the first time for him anyway." Dark reassured the younger boy absent-mindedly. He could tell the redhead was obviously worried for his friend's sake; when they had seen the blonde mingling in the crowd on TV earlier, the poor boy had started spazzing. It was quite unsettling for Dark to watch his Tamer hyperventilate and, scarily enough, resemble Emiko when she got worried about him.

He was currently strolling the dark corridors of the museum quite leisurely, having taken care of the few guards in the way. He had been wandering around for a good 5 minutes already, wondering where on earth that blasted painting was.

"Hey Daisuke…" he muttered. "Did the news reporter mention anything about _where _the painting was kept?"

-No, don't think so. I still remember what it looks like though.-

"Hmph. How boring." Dark took a right turn, entering one of the many galleries in the museum. He half expected some sort of alarm to go off, but the dark building remained quiet. Shaking his head at the lack of security, Dark continued on. The painting would not be held in a room as vulnerable as this.

"Hmm…" Dark paused at the entrance of what seemed to be yet another gallery. He studied the doorway suspiciously, and peeked into the room. He narrowed his eyes and, without a word, dropped a black feather in the middle of the room before moving on.

Minutes later, he approached another doorway. "Alright, this better not be what I think it is." He muttered. He glanced inside the room.

Dark sighed in frustration, retrieving the feather. "It's just as I thought. We're going in circles."

-What? How? We've been going in a straight line!- Daisuke was getting panicky. They had been there for at least 15 minutes already, and any second now, the police would be-

-Wait a minute. Where are all the guards?-

"They should have appeared by now. I've been here for nearly 20 minutes, but I don't hear anyone coming. And…" Dark glanced around the room. "Where's Commander Satoshi?"

-Something's wrong…seriously wrong…-

Dark didn't reply. He agreed with Daisuke though; something was messing with them. And he could feel it, tugging lightly at the edge of his consciousness, a small, nagging feeling.

His lips curled into a smirk. "It seems like someone's using a magic to interfere with us a bit…"

-Krad?-

"Apparently not. This is a different magic aura." Dark knelt down on the floor, inspecting it with his sharp eyes. It was a carpeted floor, but when he touched it, he felt not the rough, fuzzy texture of carpet, but the smooth, cold feeling of tiles. He narrowed his amethyst eyes. "This is an illusion."

The feather in his hand glowed, and the room twisted and twirled, fading away to reveal them in another gallery. Dark smirked, walking up to the far wall where the targeted painting was hanging. "I do believe this is it, right?"

-Yes, that's it! Let's hurry up and go Dark!- Daisuke urged his other half, worried that someone would soon catch up to them.

"Hm…" Dark released the alarms on the painting, taking it down and tucking it under his arm. He turned around and surveyed the room suspiciously. The room was silent, and there nothing could be heard except for his own breathing. Suddenly, a soft flurry of wings caught his attention and, ignoring whoever had been in the room at the moment, Dark broke the window and leapt out, calling his familiar.

Instantly, black wings formed on his back and Dark flew up to meet his fellow winged-'friend'. Dark smirked.

"Ah, it's been _such _a long time since we last met, Krad. I wonder, though, what you were doing wandering around in the morning."

Krad replied with equal satire. "My _dear _friend, you are badly mistaken. You see, it was the late afternoon, as I recall, and I was, of course, hunting around for your damned home so I could kill you once and for all."

"What a wonderful greeting I get." Dark replied sarcastically. "'Hello, nice to see you again and now I am going to kill you.' Pft. I'll like to see you try."

With that, Dark dodged around Krad and flew towards the front of the museum where the crowds were gathered expectantly. It was pretty bad for his reputation, having apparently appeared 30 minutes late. He had forgotten to let the cameras see him before he got to work. As soon as his silhouette came into view, the crowd went wild. He could barely make out the reporter among the hubbub.

"Phantom Thief Dark has finally appeared, although half an hour late! This is a surprising turn of events, as- wait, he has already stolen the painting! Ladies and gentleman, Dark has been working behind our backs for half an hour to take the painting! And- what's this? A White Dark is also present, and the two seem to be fighting!"

Dark dodged to the side, avoiding the ball of energy shot his way. He was getting worried; they had been doing this for 10 minutes already! Krad wasn't letting him get even 10 metres away from the museum and he needed to get back home!

"God damnit, you are so damn stubborn!" Dark growled, flying up just in time to avoid a feather being shot at him. It grazed the side of his leg though, causing it to bleed slightly. Dark winced, flying down lower while still weaving around the attacks being constantly shot at him.

"It would be so much easier if you would just _die_, Dark Mousy." Krad replied coolly, aiming another attack. This time, it hit Dark straight on the leg, causing him to reel back in pain.

"Damnit, you're just forcing me to use it, aren't you?.!" Even though he was injured in the leg, Dark did not try to fight back. He couldn't, _wouldn't _do it unless it was absolutely necessary. He had no intention of purposely harming his Tamer--

"Argh!!!!"

Krad smirked, landing smoothly on the ground. A few metres in front of him, Dark struggled to sit up, gasping painfully. He winced as another cut opened up and started bleeding. This was bad, this was _really bad._

"Had enough already, Dark?" Krad asked, dangerously soft. He was walking, taking his time as he stepped towards the injured Thief. "You know, it would be so much easier if you just used your magic…"

"Shut up Krad!" Dark spat, attempting to get up. He winced as pain shot through his leg. "You're hard enough as it is on Satoshi; I am _not _going to make _my _Tamer suffer because of you!"

A humourless laugh was his reply. "Soft as ever, aren't we?" Krad was getting dangerously close now, and the most Dark could do was back away slowly, shifting his injured leg over the grass. Golden eyes noticed this action, and the blonde smirked. "Oh dear, did I hurt you Dark?"

He received a glare in reply.

"Painful, isn't it? Wouldn't you like me to just end your sufferings, end the pain you feel now, cut the chains that bind us to this world…? You know, Dark, you're the one bringing it upon yourself. If you weren't so stubborn, we would both already be free from this curse that holds us captive here."

"You make me sick Krad!" Dark stood up this time, albeit shakily, ignoring the pain in his leg. "When I said that _I'm _the only who tells me what to do, I meant it!"

Dark flew up into the air again, and the two almost-but-not-quite angels began their fight again. This time though, Dark was obviously weakened, barely managing to dodge the attacks.

He was getting tired, and both of them knew it. He saw a particularly large energy ball coming his way, and knew that he would not be able to dodge it. Weakly, he tried to gather magic in his hands to counter it, but it was too late. He raised his wings in front of him as a shield, mentally apologizing to With.

What happened next, was something that none of them expected.

---

"So…" A navy-blue haired boy started. He looked at Syaoran, Sakura and Tomoyo. "This is the Phantom Thief that everyone has been talking about?" They were watching the two winged beings as they fought, all but three of them crowded in a tree. Them being him, Ruby Moon, Spinel Sun, Cerberus and Yue. All of the guardians were in their true forms. You can imagine how crowded that particular tree was getting, not to mention having to cope with so many _wings _trying to fit themselves in that small space.

He received a nod in reply. Eriol turned back to look once more at Dark and Krad. He recognized the blonde as the one he had seen in the apartment block, but he still could not shake off the strange feeling that both of their auras were disturbingly familiar.

"Why exactly are we out here again?" Ruby Moon asked. She had moved to hovering in the air, having become fed up with the limited sitting space on the tree. Currently, Spinel was sprawling out quite comfortably to fill up her space.

"Because Sakura using Illusion to try and stop him to confront him didn't work." Was the sullen reply she received from Syaoran. Ruby Moon didn't quite get it.

"Then why are _all _of us here? And in our true forms too. I'm really surprised that no-one's spotted us yet."

"Because," Yue answered coolly. "We are trying to find out about the strange occurrences lately. And, apparently, these two know the answers."

Meanwhile, Sakura was standing on the roof of the building right next to the tree, Staff out and Syaoran and Tomoyo beside her. She was in another one of Tomoyo's costumes. It was a costume quite reminiscent of the one she had worn when facing Yue, except the hat was sorta like Syaoran's one and that the costume was black and white(1).

"Tomoyo-chan, Syaoran-kun…" she whispered. "What do you think they were talking about before?" She was referring to the conversation Krad and Dark had had while Dark was unable to get up.

Syaoran shook his head. "I don't know, none of it makes any sense."

"But…they must be the source of the power I was feeling." Sakura took two Cards out of the deck, holding them up for the others to see. "The Light and the Dark are both reacting to them."

Kero studied the two Cards, which appeared to be glowing and brighter looking than the other Cards. It actually looked as if the Cards were coming alive. "Those two…their power is that of light and dark, which explains why the Cards are like that. They're being fuelled by the energy." He explained. Sakura frowned, pulling out another Card.

"Then why is Mirror like that too?" She asked. None of them knew.

Putting away the 3 Cards, Sakura turned her attention back to the two figures in the sky. Her mind was wandering to various random things, becoming bored with the fight.

Currently, it was recounting the past few days. Daisuke-kun coming over to her house earlier, the strange crystal attacking them, going to the museum, meeting Daisuke-kun and Hiwatari-kun…the strange dream she had had…

Wait a minute. Sakura furrowed her brows in concentration, thinking about her dream. She sighed. She couldn't remember the details of the dream, but she was sure it had something to do with Dark and - as he seemed to be called - Krad.

Sakura looked at each of them, marvelling at the differences. Dark was in all black, with his jet black wings and dark purple hair, he nearly blended straight into the night. Krad, on the other hand, was in a casual white t-shirt with grey pants. As she watched, Dark cut across the sky and turned around, facing Krad once more.

_A black figure slashed across the sky, facing another white one. She stood, below them, watching them with her wand in hand._

What was that? Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember.

_They were flying…but she couldn't see their faces._

That's it! From her dream! That strange one which, she supposed, had Dark and Krad in it. But…the next part, she couldn't quite remember…

She looked up again. Krad was gathering more magic in his hands again, but this time, it seemed larger than usual. She frowned; wait, her dream was coming back to her…

_Magic was gathering in their hands, and she knew what they were going to do. Calling her cards, she darted between them._

Emerald eyes widened, and, before she or anyone else knew what she was doing, Sakura whipped out two Cards.

"_SHIELD!!! JUMP!"_

Sakura, with Shield's protection, bounded quickly over to where the two were fighting, ignoring the yells that told her to come back. This was in her dream, she knew what was going to happen- to a certain point anyway. Gritting her teeth, Sakura gave a mighty leap-

-and jumped in front of Dark, Shield glistening as it met the attack from Krad. The magic bounced off Shield, ricocheting wildly everywhere. Quickly, Sakura called Fly, so she remained in the air and did not fall back down. She could feel the surprise from the other two.

"What the-?"

-Sakura-san?.!-

"Who," Krad stated coldly. "Are you?"

Sakura quavered slightly as golden eyes looked at her piercingly, but she did not back down. Straightening her back, she met his gaze.

"I am the Cardcaptor Sakura, Master of the Clow."

"Sakura!" Kero bellowed, flying closer with Yue and Syaoran close behind. Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun stayed behind, by the order of Eriol, while Tomoyo moved closer to film the better. She did not let herself be seen however, thinking it would be better if she remained quiet.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Syaoran asked, looking up at Sakura. She smiled back down.

"Yup! I'm not harmed at all!"

Syaoran sighed in relief. "Thank goodness."

Kero and Yue were at Sakura's side in a protective way (Syaoran would be there too, if he could fly), glaring at Krad. Their concern didn't lay with Dark; he didn't seem to attempt to harm them in any way. Instead, he flapped his wings weakly and descended to the ground.

Krad swept his gaze on the two guardians surrounding the young girl, quite annoyed that they interrupted his fight with Dark. He was quite prepared to blast them all away with his magic, and was already gathering some more magic in his hand.

Kero growled, baring his teeth. "Don't you _dare _try to attack Sakura."

Krad glanced at him loftily. "I am not obliged in any way to listen to a creature such as you." With that he fired the magic. Acting quickly, Kero raised his wings around the three of them as a shield, and the magic bounced off harmlessly.

Sakura frowned. "Please don't fight, we only want to find out some answers!"

Dark coughed as all the currently flying people landed on the ground. "And what kind of answers do you want, Sakura?"

Sakura glanced at Dark, wincing slightly at his condition. "You need to get help…"

Dark shook his head. "I'll be fine. But if you don't need anything, I'll be taking my leave."

"No, wait!" Sakura called out abruptly. "Please." She added.

"We have some questions." Syaoran said. "And we're pretty sure that you both have the answers."

"First of all," Dark interrupted. "All of you have to explain exactly what's happening. Magic isn't something everyone can do you know."

Sakura exchanged looks with her three companions (Tomoyo still hasn't shown herself, and Eriol and the others are watching from the tree) before nodding.

"You see, about 4 years ago, I released the Clow cards from their seal, and I was appointed by Kero as Cardcaptor. I had to capture all the Cards again to stop them from causing trouble, and after that, I passed the Final Trial and was recognized as Master of the Clow.

"Then, after a series of events, I changed all of the Cards into my own Sakura Cards, which leads us to the present."

"What," Dark frowned. "Exactly _are _these Cards?"

"They are Cards created by the powerful magician Clow Reed, each having their own special power. They obey the one whose name is written on them, and any time the Mistress wishes to use the Cards, she calls upon them with her Staff." Cerberus answered.

"I think it's our turn to ask you some questions now." Syaoran interrupted. After receiving nods, he continued. "First of all, you both wield magic of light or dark right?"

Dark and, grudgingly, Krad nodded but Syaoran didn't get any further with his question. "Wait, how is the Li kid involved in this? Does he use magic too?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do, now--"

Poor Syaoran never got to say what he wanted to, for at that moment, two certain Cards in Sakura's deck seemed to explode with light. Cerberus widened his eyes, immediately wrapping his wings against Sakura.

"Watch out!"

---

A few minutes passed before Kero actually moved away his wings to give Sakura some space. Emerald eyes blinked, and then looked down at the ground.

Two Cards lay there, two of which were getting very familiar by now. Frowning, Sakura picked up the Light and Dark, from which the light had appeared from. "I guess they just overreacted to all that energy, right?"

"I would say so." Yue replied coolly. "I assume, however, that the Mirror Card is also acting strangely?"

"It is," Sakura replied. "I just don't know why."

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see."

"Hey, we never got to ask them the questions after all." Syaoran said, realising that the two winged beings had slipped away sometime while they were temporarily blinded. "And after we told them about us too!"

"It seems that simply _asking _them won't be enough." Kero mused. "I think we'll have to find out through other methods."

"I think I'm going to get another headache…" Sakura moaned. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that Eriol and the others had disappeared, and Tomoyo was approaching them with a curious look on her face.

"Li-kun…" she began. "You haven't ever given your name to Dark-san before have you?"

Syaoran stared at her, puzzled. "No, why?"

"Well, seeing as he _did _address you, don't you think that it's a bit suspicious…?" Tomoyo asked. "And Niwa-kun knew where your house was too, Sakura-chan." She pointed out the link that no one else saw.

"Phwee? That's right, Syaoran-kun you never told him that."

He slapped his forehead. "Why don't I ever realise that people know things that shouldn't know until _after _they leave?.!"

"What a coincidence." Sakura mused. Tomoyo blinked then smiled to herself.

"That's what you think, Sakura-chan…"

---

A good distance away from the museum, _safely _surrounded by the spooky trees and bushes of the supposedly haunted forest, two people were sitting up groggily, clutching their head and moaning in pain.

Well, one of them was. The other one remained as expressionless as ever, only allowing a small flicker of irritation on to his face.

"Ugh…what happened there?" Daisuke groaned, shaking his head to clear away the fogginess. Satoshi stood up, dusting himself off without answering.

--Ah, I knew there was something about Sakura and the others…-- Dark's voice seemed almost gleeful, as if proud that he had had an inkling of what was going on.

"But what _happened_?" Daisuke persisted. "What was that bright light, and how did we get here?"

"That," The blue-haired boy's voice was heard. "I believe, was Kinomoto-san's 'Cards'."

Ruby red eyes blinked, thinking slowly. "That's right…Sakura-san can also do magic…as well as Li-kun and the others…"

Satoshi sighed, running a hand through his hair. Great, just great…yet another annoying thing to have to put up with. A group of magicians who obviously decided that they wanted answers by confronting the Thief _during _the theft and were all in all getting in the way. He did _not _want other people involved with this.

Daisuke glanced down at the painting beside him, sizing it up. Unfortunately for him, the painting was a _little _too big to be able to carry all the way home inconspicuously, and he didn't want Dark to take control again…only one way left then.

"With, you take the painting home, ok?"

"Kyu!" His furry white pet morphed into his black-winged form and, having the painting safely grasped in his claws, flew off towards home.

"Ah, Hiwatari-kun!" The redhead called, noticing that the other boy was leaving. Satoshi paused.

"What?"

"Um, Sakura-san and the others invited us to go the festival at Tsukimine Shrine next week." Daisuke told him cheerfully. "We're meeting at the front gates when the festival starts, so you wanna come?"

There was an awkward silence as Daisuke began to wonder what was going through the blue-haired teen's mind, and was thinking that he should just wave it off and say that he didn't really have to go when…

"I'll be there."

The redhead's face lit up. "Really?"

Satoshi turned away from him again and began to walk out of the forest. "Yes, I would like to keep an eye on that group…"

--…--

"…"

--…and I thought that Creepy boy was actually loosening up for once. Boy, was I wrong.--

"Dark!"

---

(1) - It's quite obvious that I have absolutely _no _sense of imagination when it comes to battle costumes

Sorry if it lacked anything of interest…I'll put the festival in the next chapter…I think. No guarantees anywhere, and I'm _really _sorry about the chapter. I apologize for all my readers out there who have to wait so long to get an update, and even then the chapter's horribly written. I hate writing action, I'm real bad at it (obviously) Dx

But, if it isn't too much to ask…please R&R?


	10. Cotton Candy and Stuffed Bears

**Of Light and Dark**

**Everyone: **-gasps- SHE'S ALIVE!!!

Hi peoples!

**Everyone: **GET HER!!!

Yikes! -pelted by random vegetables- Ok, sheesh, I feel guilty. Don't want to go on a rant about how sorry I am, cause you can find that in my profile. My excuse? ... I'm freaking lazy.

**Response to anonymous reviewer signed 'hello': **I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but I'm basing my story off the manga, in which there are only 19 cards and Kero's true form goes by the name Cerberus. I know that Kerberos is used in the anime, but like I said I'm going by the manga (and also cause I like the spelling of Cerberus more ;P)

**Disclaimer: **CCS is to Clamp as DN Angel is to Yukiru Sugisaki. 'Nuff said.

**Chapter 10: Cotton Candy and Stuffed Bears**

"Kosuke-san, doesn't this remind you of the festivals back home?" A certain lovestruck mother sighed dreamily, clinging on to the arm of her dear husband. Said husband only smiled, and nodded.

"Wow…it's so…colourful. A-a-and there are so many people!" Daisuke couldn't help but stare in awe at the beautiful strings of lights that hung in the festival grounds, each of them glowing brightly. Already, the shrine was filling up with masses of people, all chattering cheerfully and enjoying the night. On his shoulder, With 'kyu'-ed happily, evidently ready to go off in search of some nice red strawberries anytime.

"Daisuke-kun! Over here!"

The redhead turned to his right, and grinned as he noticed the others. It was quite a big group, and a wonder how he had missed them in the first place. He ran over to them, while the rest of the Niwa household remained at the gates for the time being.

"Has Hiwatari-kun arrived yet?" Sakura asked, as none of them had caught sight of him yet. Daisuke shook his head, not overly concerned by it, however. He motioned for his family to come over, and introduced them all to one another.

---

(Alright, introductions, clothing and the likes will be skipped. I'll leave that to your imagination)

"I really can't believe it; there's a festival here _every _year?" Daisuke asked the Tomoeda residents in amazement. The others nodded. "It must be great to be able to get together and have fun on these festival nights."

"It sure is." Tomoyo smiled, video camera in hand. Currently, she was filming Sakura and Syaoran, who were _finally _acting more like a couple; you know, the holding hands, slight bit of snuggling. "Especially since it's so fun to be able to film Sakura-chan and Li-kun together!"

"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura blushed, earning giggles from the dark-haired girl. Their formerly large group had split up; Emiko, Kosuke, Daiki and Towa had separated from the younger ones, instead drifting through the festival in their own little group. In Towa's case, she was most likely squealing at every cute thing on display.

Nakuru had dragged Eriol off somewhere, presumably to some cotton candy store or the other. Thus leaving Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo and Daisuke behind. Satoshi was still nowhere to be found.

"It's nice to be able to get out like this, don't you think Niwa-kun?" The black-haired girl asked the redhead, who nodded energetically in reply.

"Yeah, I don't get to do this much."

"Yeah, and the whole fiasco happening tonight just completely ruins it." Syaoran muttered.

Daisuke bit his lip, looking away. It wasn't his fault that Emiko had _insisted _that it took place…no matter what he protested.

An image of the very persevering, very much on sugar high Emiko demanding that she had it her way appeared in his mind. He shuddered at the very thought.

Suddenly, the brunette gasped in excitement. "Syaoran-kun, look! Cotton candy!"

---

"What's wrong Eriol?" A slightly worried Nakuru asked of the said magician. He looked deep in thought, but glanced over to her at her question.

"Mm…nothing, really."

"You sense them, don't you Master Eriol?" Suppi asked inconspicuously from his position in Nakuru's arms. "Are they close?"

Eriol nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed they are…I guess it's no surprise. After all, it was announced earlier today."

Nakuru grinned cheerfully, giving Eriol a friendly whack on the back. "Tch, you're getting moody! Cheer up, I _know _it's going to be absolutely no problem whatsoever for Sakura-chan and the others to handle!"

The dark-haired boy nodded, giving a smile that spoke of secrecy and hidden knowledge. "I know that too, Nakuru. I have complete fate in Sakura-san's powers."

Suppi yawned, his gaze flickering to his master's face. "You truly are Clow Reed's reincarnation."

And to that, he could only smile.

---

"_During the annual Tsukimine Festival tonight…"_

---

"Tomoyo-chan…why did you bring that along?"

"Silly, it's because you'll need it tonight of course!"

"B-b-but why?"

"You haven't forgotten already have you?"

"No no no! I remember alright…but can't I just watch? I really don't want to get involved."

"Is that so?" A disappointed sigh. "Oh well then, I'll keep it with me just in case."

"Just in…case?"

A fleeting wink, and a barely audible giggle. "You never know what could happen, Sakura-chan."

---

"…_not sure how it will be pulled off…"_

---

--What time is it?--

-Relax Dark, there's still a few hours left, at least.-

--…what time is it?--

-If you really must know its 9:30. Now let me concentrate.-

--Oh? Which one are you aiming for?--

-The stuffed bear up there.-

--Pft, you'll never get that.--

-Shut up Dark, I just have to hit the cans one more time.-

--…--

-…ok that missed. But I still have 2 tries left.-

--…what time is it now?--

-Gah! Dark!-

--What? I just want to know the time!--

-You made me miss!! And stop being so impatient, we _will _be on time!-

--I'm not impatient, I'm just…curious…and your aim is off.--

-Huh?-

--MISS!!!!!--

-**_DARK!-_**

---

"…_believes that tonight would be especially easy."_

---

A loud bark of laughter was heard, as the man waved a rectangular piece of paper in the air. The other person in the room waited patiently, occasionally brushing back a strand of hair when it fell out of place.

Finally, the laughing ceased. He lowered his head, almost conspiratorially, to make eye contact with the other figure.

"You _really _think he'll be able to do it," he began jeeringly. "Even with _countless _of our men alert and waiting, surrounding every inch of the area, _even _with masses upon masses of people surrounding the aforementioned area? Especially the fact it is virtually impossible to stay hidden with so many people?!"

"But sir, from past experience, I have no reason to think why he may _not _be able to do it. This is exactly why I believe that _different _precautions need to be taken."

A mocking sigh. "Ah, but you are young and _inexperienced_." A quiet but audible cough was heard. "_I _however, believe that the plan we are following now is perfectly capable of dealing with it."

"And those were the words that left the last egotistical fool in charge of this looking like a complete idiot." The figure cut in sharply. "Believe me, I _know _his tricks. I am _familiar _with what he tends to do, and _I _know what I am doing."

"I suppose that explains why you have yet to succeed."

An awkward silence.

With a frustrated sigh, the younger person turned to open the door. "Just listen to me, and change the plans. You're making it too easy for him, sir."

The door slid shut, leaving only one person left in the room. He frowned down at the paper on his table in thought, considering the possibilities in his mind. Giving a snort of contempt, he scrunched up the plans, throwing it into the wastebasket next to his table, before he too left the room.

That boy may be High Commander, but _he _was certainly capable of making his own decisions.

---

"_Tonight at 12 midnight exactly…"_

---

**A/N: **Um, the conversations in between are meant to be vague. If you're wondering what they all seem to be alluding to, you'll find out soon. If you've already guessed…then I suck at inconspicuousness.

There are clues scattered everywhere in this chapter, and the conversations are there cause I didn't wanna write anything about the things going on in the festival, because I **know **I will ruin it. I'm kinda scared of the way I write now…so it's a bit of a build up towards the next chapter.

If you're wondering why the first part (where the conversation was still legible) is written so differently from the rest, it's because I wrote them at different points of time. So my writing style changed a TEENSY bit.

Er, sorry for shortness. I didn't mean for that to happen.


End file.
